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

Etymology

Origin of characteristic

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

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

One of the strongest clues came from the relationship between the superconductivity enhancement and the characteristic frequency of the dark cavity.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026

The prime minister said he would "always admire the characteristic courage and openness with which she spoke about her illness, making us all think about the difficult questions we face at the end of life".

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

By combining measurements taken along the axes of the jets, the team searched for H-alpha, a characteristic signature of ionized hydrogen gas.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

Her interpretation showed early how a jazz singer could personalize the ballad, imbuing it with her characteristic rhythmic freedom and emotional depth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

She swallowed and clenched her fists; he did not know, yet, how characteristic it was of her.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Mercedes are expecting a strong challenge from McLaren at the flowing Sepang track this weekend as its characteristics should suit the world champions' car.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

In a note published over the weekend titled “Something’s gotta give,” he argued that, while equity-market characteristics are “unsustainable,” there are also concerning developments in credit.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

For banks with massive balance sheets such as JPMorgan, private-credit firms can present an opportunity to expand the credit box, approving people with lower credit scores or other characteristics that the bank would normally reject.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

The department said it found a similar pattern when it compared applicants with the same test scores, undergraduate grades and socioeconomic characteristics.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

To be domesticated, a candidate wild species must possess many different characteristics.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

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