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

She is beautiful and desirable, but her sexuality isn’t the defining characteristic of her existence — something we don’t see enough when it comes to Latina roles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

A key characteristic of Green SM is that it employs all its professional drivers as full-time, W-2-based employees, unlike Uber and Lyft’s gig-worker model.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Rather than simply accompanying aging, the loss of Menin appeared capable of helping drive several of its characteristic changes.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

The Dodgers actually hit into three double plays Sunday — an entirely characteristic plot point for an older, slower team that hit into a league-leading 128 double plays this season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

The touch about lovers’ lies is characteristic of Ovid, as also the little story about Syrinx.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Even after extensive laboratory expansion, the GMPs maintained the molecular characteristics that defined them.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

These dramatic differences in color help reveal variations in water depth and the characteristics of the marine environment.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

Scharp identified eight characteristics of estrangement, or areas in which adult children who are pulling away from their parents change their behaviors or feelings:

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

The crew also conducted nutrition-focused research and examined how physical characteristics may affect blood flow during spaceflight to help keep astronauts safe and healthy on future missions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

The overall average of human facial characteristics was the primary template for the operation.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

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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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