characteristic

[ kar-ik-tuh-ris-tik ]

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

noun

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. Compare mantissa.
   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

/ 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

adjective

1. indicative of a distinctive quality, etc; typical

characteristic

/ 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

Derived Forms

• ˌcharacterˈistically, adverb

Other Words From

• char·ac·ter·is·ti·cal·ly adverb
• non·char·ac·ter·is·tic adjective
• non·char·ac·ter·is·ti·cal·ly adverb
• qua·si-char·ac·ter·is·tic adjective
• qua·si-char·ac·ter·is·ti·cal·ly adverb
• un·char·ac·ter·is·tic adjective
• un·char·ac·ter·is·ti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of characteristic¹

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

Synonym Study

See feature.

Example Sentences

She said the defining characteristic of her husband was his sensitivity.

From The Daily Beast

He wears his characteristic white shalwar kameez with a tattered gray waistcoat.

From The Daily Beast

Most have been straightforward cases where the child came in with the characteristic rash.

From The Daily Beast

Any person or group can be prejudiced against another group, for any reason and based on any characteristic.

From The Daily Beast

It's remarkable, too, that during his delivery, Lou showed no significant signs of slurred speech, often so characteristic of ALS.

From The Daily Beast

Fibrinous casts are characteristic of fibrinous bronchitis, but may also be found in diphtheria of the smaller bronchi.

From Project Gutenberg

In this case, I suspect, there was co-operant a strongly marked childish characteristic, the love of producing an effect.

From Project Gutenberg

A characteristic which distinguished them and which impressed Mrs. Pontellier most forcibly was their entire absence of prudery.

From Project Gutenberg

Most characteristic is the presence of Curschmann's spirals, Charcot-Leyden crystals, and eosinophilic leukocytes.

From Project Gutenberg

When pneumonia occurs during the course of a chronic bronchitis, the characteristic rusty red sputum may not appear.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• distinctive
• idiosyncratic
• innate
• peculiar
• singular
• unique