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character
[ kar-ik-ter ]
noun
- 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.
Synonyms: sign
- 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)
- to portray; describe.
- to engrave; inscribe.
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; integrity
a man of character
- reputation, esp a good reputation
- ( as modifier )
character assassination
- a summary or account of a person's qualities and achievements; testimonial
my last employer gave me a good character
- capacity, position, or status
he spoke in the character of a friend rather than a father
- a person represented in a play, film, story, etc; role
- an outstanding person
one of the great characters of the century
- informal.an odd, eccentric, or unusual person
he's quite a character
- See personan informal word for person
a shady character
- a symbol used in a writing system, such as a letter of the alphabet
- Also calledsort printing any single letter, numeral, punctuation mark, or symbol cast as a type
- computing any letter, numeral, etc, which is a unit of information and can be represented uniquely by a binary pattern
- a style of writing or printing
- genetics any 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 characterin character typical of the apparent character of a person or thing
- out of characterout of character not typical of the apparent character of a person or thing
verb
- to write, print, inscribe, or engrave
- rare.to portray or represent
character
/ kăr′ək-tər /
- Genetics.A structure, function, or attribute determined by a gene or a group of genes.
- Computer Science.A symbol, such as a letter, number, or punctuation mark, that occupies one byte of memory.
- Computer Science.See more at ASCII
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Derived Forms
- ˈcharacterful, adjective
- ˈcharacterless, adjective
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Other Words From
- char·ac·ter·less adjective
- un·char·ac·tered adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of character1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of character1
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Idioms and Phrases
- 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.
More idioms and phrases containing character
see in character ; out of character .Discover More
Synonym Study
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Example Sentences
When I was offered this, I was extremely pleased because he’s an interesting character.
In preparing to play the twisted character, Paulson studied the novel and the film in detail and even borrowed some gestures from the movie.
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.
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.
Female speaking characters have only marginally increased over the last 13 years, reaching 34% in 2019.
Taraji manages to bring an equal measure of truth to the mother in her character.
I still do find it a tremendously useful device to invent a character and have the character sing the song.
You were basically the guy to do every dictator or crazy character, from Gaddafi and Ahmadinejad to Bin Laden.
Our fans have seen all our sketches, so we wanted to give them something a little deeper about each character.
Forget those silly “games played with the ball”; they are far “too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind.”
I, therefore, deliver it as a maxim, that whoever desires the character of a proud man ought to conceal his vanity.
It is the development of character, the triumph of intellectuality and spirituality I have striven to express.'
She never realized that the reserve of her own character had much, perhaps everything, to do with this.
Messa urges the king to send a new governor, and gives his advice as to the character of him who should be sent.
Some peculiar lines between these contracted brows gave a character of ferocity to this forbidding and sensual face.
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More About Character
What does character mean?
A character is a person in a story, as in Princess Leia is my favorite Star Wars character.
A character is someone who appears in a story, whether the story is fiction or nonfiction. It can also be used to refer to a role in a play or film that an actor plays, as in Tony’s character in the play doesn’t have any lines, but he’s still important to the plot.
Character is also the collection of features and traits that make a person’s image and personality, as in Ishir’s character was one of honesty and friendship. If someone seems characterless, they don’t have traits that stand out, although everyone has personality traits.
Character can also refer to a person’s moral or ethical quality. If you are a person of good character, you are trustworthy and reliable.
Related to that, if you have character, you are honest and courageous or have integrity.
Additionally, a character is a specific symbol or image that is used in writing messages. The words you are reading are written in letters, or characters, that make up the Latin alphabet. Punctuation marks and numerals (1, IX) are also characters. They are called symbols as well.
Example: I can’t believe that my favorite character died in the show last night.
Where does character come from?
The first records of the term character come from around the 1270s. It ultimately comes from the Greek charaktḗr, meaning “graving tool or its mark.” A character meaning “mark” can refer to a symbol or a letter.
In acting, the idioms in character and out of character are used to describe whether an actor is speaking as their role (in character) or as themselves (out of character). You can also use these idioms to describe how someone is acting. If your brother usually sleeps until noon, it is in character for him to sleep until noon and out of character to sleep only until 10 am.
Did you know … ?
What are some other forms related to character?
- characterful (adjective)
- characterless (adjective)
- uncharactered (adjective)
What are some synonyms for character?
What are some words that share a root or word element with character?
What are some words that often get used in discussing character?
How is character used in real life?
As a letter or symbol, character almost always references a written work. As a trait, it normally references a specific person.
if you wanna see the true character of person watch the way they treat someone who can't do anything for them.
— ye (@kanyewest) April 19, 2018
Reading lots of feedback regarding Dragon Age, and I think you’ll be relieved to see what the team is working on. Story & character focused.
Too early to talk details, but when we talk about “live” it just means designing a game for continued storytelling after the main story.
— Casey Hudson (@CaseyDHudson) January 25, 2018
why does creating a password require a capital letter, number, special character, and math problem but someone can just accidentally press the wrong button to send ballistic missle alerts
— manny (@mannyfidel) January 13, 2018
Try using character!
Is character used correctly in the following sentence?
It takes a lot of character to leave your hometown and start all over.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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