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

---

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.

   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

---

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

---

Related Words

See feature.

Other Word Forms

• characteristically adverb
• noncharacteristic adjective
• noncharacteristically adverb
• quasi-characteristic adjective
• quasi-characteristically adverb
• uncharacteristic adjective
• uncharacteristically adverb

Etymology

Origin of characteristic

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

Example Sentences

Banks’ earnings are nevertheless resilient and show favorable income characteristics, which still makes them an attractive bet, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal

Finn and his Danish relatives had similar physical characteristics to the UK couple - light eyes and brown hair, an extended family tree showed.

From BBC

Nonetheless, utility stocks today offer decent value and still have defensive characteristics.

From The Wall Street Journal

"The main argument for obtaining PDO status for feta was that the milk comes from animals that graze freely in pastures full of native herbs, which gives the milk unique characteristics," said Onasoglou.

From Barron's

Scientists believe these constant shifts are what give water its unusual characteristics.

From Science Daily

Related Words

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