characteristic

American  

[kar-ik-tuh-ris-tik] / ˌkær ɪk təˈrɪs tɪk /

adjective

1. Also characteristical. pertaining to, constituting, or indicating the character or peculiar quality of a person or thing; typical; distinctive.

   Red and gold are the characteristic colors of autumn.

   Synonyms:

   peculiar, special

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noun

• characteristics
  plural

1. a distinguishing feature or quality.

   Generosity is his chief characteristic.

   Synonyms:

   trait, property, attribute

2. Mathematics.

   1. the integral part of a common logarithm.

   2. the exponent of 10 in a number expressed in scientific notation.

   3. the smallest positive integer n such that each element of a given ring added to itself n times results in 0.

characteristic British  

/ ˌkærɪktəˈrɪstɪk /

noun

1. a distinguishing quality, attribute, or trait

2. maths

   1. the integral part of a common logarithm, indicating the order of magnitude of the associated number Compare mantissa

      the characteristic of 2.4771 is 2

   2. another name for exponent, used esp in number representation in computing

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adjective

1. indicative of a distinctive quality, etc; typical

characteristic Scientific  

/ kăr′ək-tə-rĭs′tĭk /

1. The part of a logarithm to the base 10 that is to the left of the decimal point. For example, if 2.749 is a logarithm, 2 is the characteristic.

2. Compare mantissa

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Synonym Usage

See feature.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncharacteristic
  adjective
• quasi-characteristic
  adjective
• uncharacteristic
  adjective
• characteristically
  adverb
• noncharacteristically
  adverb
• quasi-characteristically
  adverb
• uncharacteristically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• characteristics
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of characteristic

First recorded in 1655–65; from Greek charaktēristikós ( see character, -istic)

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Explanation

If something is a characteristic of someone or something, it is a feature you would expect. A characteristic of classical-style architecture is large stone columns. A characteristic of poodles is their pom-pom like tails. A characteristic feature needn't just be a something physically apparent, it can describe a type of personality or atmosphere as well, as in: "The characteristic of all funeral homes is their gloomy air." As their spelling and meaning implies, there is a close link between the words characteristic and character, meaning the essential nature of a thing, and in fact both words come from the ancient Greek kharackter, meaning a "symbol or imprint on the soul."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

characteristic characteristics

Patients must meet certain criteria for a diagnosis: a combination of clinical symptoms and lesions characteristic of MS that show up on an MRI scan of the brain and spinal cord.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Unlike Luca’s freestanding work, however, Andrea’s is a relief—the characteristic white figures against a blue background.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

They are one of the characteristic features of Alzheimer's and have long been investigated for their role in the disease.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

The discovery suggests that fractional Fermi seas represent an exotic critical phase of quantum matter, with characteristic patterns of particle correlations that extend beyond existing descriptions of one-dimensional quantum systems.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

Because of him, each of Eldred’s six heirs are said to have some animal characteristic, a thing that is not unusual in Faerie but is unusual among the trooping Gentry of the Courts.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

They also cultivated spores under laboratory conditions to examine the fungus's physical characteristics and sequenced its genome, including its protein-coding genes.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

Ability, pace and character are the characteristics they will need in pretty much every outfield position but, from where they are now, achieving that will not happen quickly.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

His work focuses on adapting medical care to the characteristics of individual patients instead of assuming that everyone will respond to the same treatment.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

British police devised the first criminal identification record of distinctive marks, and, in France, Alphonse Bertillon developed a system of anthropometry, or measuring and cataloging physical characteristics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

The juiciest shorts—the bonds ultimately backed by the mortgages most likely to default—had several characteristics.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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Related Words

• aspect
• attribute
• component
• essence
• flavor
• nature
• peculiarity
• personality
• quality
• style
• symptom
• temperament
• tendency
• tone
• virtue

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