trait
a distinguishing characteristic or quality, especially of one's personal nature:bad traits of character.
a pen or pencil stroke.
a stroke, touch, or strain, as of some quality: a trait of pathos; a trait of ready wit.
Origin of trait
1Other words for trait
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use trait in a sentence
I was more impressed when she nailed a few less flattering character traits.
The congregation was warm, friendly, and welcoming—traits, he says, he later came to believe they used to coax members in.
Certain personality traits and types are unofficially ascribed to them by students.
If you identify with two or more of the following traits, you may want to seek out a nutritionist or counselor, according to Dunn.
Orthorexia: When Healthy Eating Becomes an Obsession | DailyBurn | October 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis means closely examining photos for sought-after traits like height and a symmetrical face.
You will find these two traits in every grade of Scotch life—in tradesman, mechanic, and peasant.
Friend Mac Donald | Max O'RellThe hive bee, the most communal in habit, shows the highest traits of intelligent activity.
Man And His Ancestor | Charles MorrisIn a flash of the eye, with an unequalled clear-sightedness, he disentangled from all the traits—just the one.
Charles Baudelaire, His Life | Thophile GautierWhile only in minor traits communal, they are eminently social, and have doubtless derived great advantage from this.
Man And His Ancestor | Charles MorrisEspecially he learned the character of Miss Prall, or, rather, the traits of her character that interested the Everett household.
In the Onyx Lobby | Carolyn Wells
British Dictionary definitions for trait
/ (treɪt, treɪ) /
a characteristic feature or quality distinguishing a particular person or thing
rare a touch or stroke
Origin of trait
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for trait
[ trāt ]
A genetically determined characteristic or condition. Traits may be physical, such as hair color or leaf shape, or they may be behavioral, such as nesting in birds and burrowing in rodents. Traits typically result from the combined action of several genes, though some traits are expressed by a single gene.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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