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

“Giant” is a probing character study that raises the discomfiting question of how a man of intelligence and imagination could hold such atavistic and pernicious views.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 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

But while Walker-Silverman couldn’t have imagined his movie’s jarring real-world parallels, “Rebuilding” is as much a character study as it is a warning about our increasingly fragile planet and the beloved places we call home.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2025

Together, the two craft a self-aware, though no less banal, character study, examining the life of an artist who’s too famous to get off the ride — or perhaps, just too damn charming.

From Salon • Oct. 2, 2025

Lila’s expression changed from the pained sympathy of friendship to the scientific zeal of character study.

From Beatrice Leigh at College A Story for Girls by Schwartz, Julia Augusta