the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.
one such feature or trait; characteristic.
moral or ethical quality: a man of fine, honorable character.
qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity: It takes character to face up to a bully.
reputation: a stain on one's character.
good repute.
an account of the qualities or peculiarities of a person or thing.
a person, especially with reference to behavior or personality: a suspicious character.
Informal. an odd, eccentric, or unusual person.
a person represented in a drama, story, etc.
a part or role, as in a play or film.
a symbol as used in a writing system, as a letter of the alphabet.
the symbols of a writing system collectively.
a significant visual mark or symbol.
status or capacity: the character of a justice of the peace.
a written statement from an employer concerning the qualities of a former employee.
Literature. (especially in 17th- and 18th-century England) a formal character sketch or descriptive analysis of a particular human virtue or vice as represented in a person or type.Compare character sketch.
Genetics. any trait, function, structure, or substance of an organism resulting from the effect of one or more genes as modified by the environment.
Computers.
any symbol, as a number, letter, punctuation mark, etc., that represents data and that, when encoded, is usable by a machine.
one of a set of basic symbols that singly or in a series of two or more represents data and, when encoded, is usable in a computer.
a style of writing or printing.
Roman Catholic Theology. the ineffaceable imprint received on the soul through the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and ordination.
(formerly) a cipher or cipher message.
adjective
Theater.
(of a part or role) representing a personality type, especially by emphasizing distinctive traits, as language, mannerisms, physical makeup, etc.
(of an actor or actress) acting or specializing in such roles.
verb (used with object)Archaic.
to portray; describe.
to engrave; inscribe.
Idioms for character
in character,
in harmony with one's personal character or disposition: Such behavior is not in character for him.
in accordance with the role or personality assumed in a performance: an actor in character.
out of character,
out of harmony with one's personal character or disposition: Her remarks were out of character.
away from the role or personality assumed in a performance: The actor stepped out of character.
Origin of character
1275–1325; <Latin <Greek charaktḗr graving tool, its mark, equivalent to charak- (base of charáttein to engrave) + -tēr agent suffix; replacing Middle English caractere<Middle French <Latin, as above
SYNONYMS FOR character
5 name, repute.
14 sign.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR character ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for character
1. Character,individuality,personality refer to the sum of the characteristics possessed by a person. Character refers especially to moral qualities, ethical standards, principles, and the like: a man of sterling character.Individuality refers to the distinctive qualities that make one recognizable as a person differentiated from others: a woman of strong individuality.Personality refers particularly to the combination of outer and inner characteristics that determine the impression that a person makes upon others: a child of vivid or pleasing personality.5. See reputation.
Chapultepec, chaqueta, char, char-à-banc, characin, character, character actor, character armour, character assassination, character code, character dance
When I was offered this, I was extremely pleased because he’s an interesting character.
Christopher Plummer on his new series ‘Departure’ and acting in different formats|radmarya|September 16, 2020|Fortune
In preparing to play the twisted character, Paulson studied the novel and the film in detail and even borrowed some gestures from the movie.
‘Ratched’ brings back iconic cinematic villain|Brian T. Carney|September 16, 2020|Washington Blade
A recent survey from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, for example, found that 38% of characters featured in advertisements at the 2019 Cannes Lions festival were people of color, compared to 26% in 2006, the earliest available data.
The insidious racism in today’s TV ads|Sarah Todd|September 13, 2020|Quartz
While for the video titles, we don’t have too many characters to work with, the video description field allows more characters than enough, so take the full advantage of those.
How to get your YouTube videos appear in Google’s video carousel|Ann Smarty|September 11, 2020|Search Engine Watch
Female speaking characters have only marginally increased over the last 13 years, reaching 34% in 2019.
Despite some gains in the past year, Hollywood still has inclusion problems, study says|radmarya|September 10, 2020|Fortune
Taraji manages to bring an equal measure of truth to the mother in her character.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist|Judnick Mayard|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I still do find it a tremendously useful device to invent a character and have the character sing the song.
Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Forget those silly “games played with the ball”; they are far “too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind.”
Forget the Resolutions; Try a Few Declarations|Kevin Bleyer|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Even though my character got killed in that first episode it was a pretty shootout scene.
Porn Stars on the Year in Porn: Drone Erotica, Belle Knox, and Wild Sex|Aurora Snow|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As many West Wing fans have pointed out, the character of Leo McGarry died after Sorkin had already left the series.
'The Newsroom' Ended As It Began: Weird, Controversial, and Noble|Kevin Fallon|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dumouriez had brains and character, Kellermann character and stolid imperturbability.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
It is to be reckoned, not in terms of knowledge and organization, but of character.
Progress and History|Various
He was a man of great strength of character, and of marvellous perseverance in all that he undertook.
Edward Hoare, M.A.|Edward Hoare
A revolution of this same Chinese character did young Oxford of that era effect in the constitution of mail-coach society.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 66, No. 408, January 1849|Various
How Ishtar came to take on so violent a character is not altogether clear.
The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria|Morris Jastrow
British Dictionary definitions for character
character
/ (ˈkærɪktə) /
noun
the combination of traits and qualities distinguishing the individual nature of a person or thing
one such distinguishing quality; characteristic
moral force; integritya man of character
reputation, esp a good reputation
(as modifier)character assassination
a summary or account of a person's qualities and achievements; testimonialmy last employer gave me a good character
capacity, position, or statushe spoke in the character of a friend rather than a father
a person represented in a play, film, story, etc; role
an outstanding personone of the great characters of the century
informalan odd, eccentric, or unusual personhe's quite a character
an informal word for person a shady character
a symbol used in a writing system, such as a letter of the alphabet
Also called: sortprintingany single letter, numeral, punctuation mark, or symbol cast as a type
computingany letter, numeral, etc, which is a unit of information and can be represented uniquely by a binary pattern
a style of writing or printing
geneticsany structure, function, attribute, etc, in an organism, which may or may not be determined by a gene or group of genes
a short prose sketch of a distinctive type of person, usually representing a vice or virtue
in charactertypical of the apparent character of a person or thing
out of characternot typical of the apparent character of a person or thing
verb(tr)
to write, print, inscribe, or engrave
rareto portray or represent
Derived forms of character
characterful, adjectivecharacterless, adjective
Word Origin for character
C14: from Latin: distinguishing mark, from Greek kharaktēr engraver's tool, from kharassein to engrave, stamp
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