character study

American  

noun

1. a work of fiction in which the delineation of the central character's personality is more important than the plot.

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Example Sentences

Ms. Peet’s vivid blue eyes remain a major asset in “Fantasy Life,” an unforced character study that wryly observes some mild turbulence in the day-to-day existence of a group of mixed-up New Yorkers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

He stars in Blue Moon - a character study of Lorenz Hart, a formerly successful songwriter struggling with the huge hit his former partner Richard Rogers is having with the musical Oklahoma!

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026

No, the kind of Raimi movie you’re getting here is irreverent, silly and very bloody: a character study that also features incredibly goofy scares.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026

Instead, it has all the hallmarks of both a black comedy comprising carefully crafted scenes and a deft character study made up of painstakingly applied warts-and-all detail.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

Keen and incisive in character study, logical and life-like in plot invention and development, 'The Women We Marry,' is a novel that stands sturdily on its own merits.

From Clark's Field by Herrick, Robert