character
the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.
one such feature or trait; characteristic.
moral or ethical quality: a man of fine, honorable character.
qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity: It takes character to face up to a bully.
reputation: a stain on one's character.
good repute.
an account of the qualities or peculiarities of a person or thing.
a person, especially with reference to behavior or personality: a suspicious character.
Informal. an odd, eccentric, or unusual person.
a person represented in a drama, story, etc.
a part or role, as in a play or film.
a symbol as used in a writing system, as a letter of the alphabet.
the symbols of a writing system collectively.
a significant visual mark or symbol.
status or capacity: the character of a justice of the peace.
a written statement from an employer concerning the qualities of a former employee.
Literature. (especially in 17th- and 18th-century England) a formal character sketch or descriptive analysis of a particular human virtue or vice as represented in a person or type.: Compare character sketch.
Genetics. any trait, function, structure, or substance of an organism resulting from the effect of one or more genes as modified by the environment.
Computers.
any symbol, as a number, letter, punctuation mark, etc., that represents data and that, when encoded, is usable by a machine.
one of a set of basic symbols that singly or in a series of two or more represents data and, when encoded, is usable in a computer.
a style of writing or printing.
Roman Catholic Theology. the ineffaceable imprint received on the soul through the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and ordination.
(formerly) a cipher or cipher message.
Theater.
(of a part or role) representing a personality type, especially by emphasizing distinctive traits, as language, mannerisms, physical makeup, etc.
(of an actor or actress) acting or specializing in such roles.
to portray; describe.
to engrave; inscribe.
Idioms about character
in character,
in harmony with one's personal character or disposition: Such behavior is not in character for him.
in accordance with the role or personality assumed in a performance: an actor in character.
out of character,
out of harmony with one's personal character or disposition: Her remarks were out of character.
away from the role or personality assumed in a performance: The actor stepped out of character.
Origin of character
1synonym study For character
Other words for character
Other words from character
- char·ac·ter·less, adjective
- un·char·ac·tered, adjective
Words Nearby character
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use character in a sentence
When I was offered this, I was extremely pleased because he’s an interesting character.
Christopher Plummer on his new series ‘Departure’ and acting in different formats | radmarya | September 16, 2020 | FortuneIn preparing to play the twisted character, Paulson studied the novel and the film in detail and even borrowed some gestures from the movie.
‘Ratched’ brings back iconic cinematic villain | Brian T. Carney | September 16, 2020 | Washington BladeA recent survey from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, for example, found that 38% of characters featured in advertisements at the 2019 Cannes Lions festival were people of color, compared to 26% in 2006, the earliest available data.
While for the video titles, we don’t have too many characters to work with, the video description field allows more characters than enough, so take the full advantage of those.
How to get your YouTube videos appear in Google’s video carousel | Ann Smarty | September 11, 2020 | Search Engine WatchFemale speaking characters have only marginally increased over the last 13 years, reaching 34% in 2019.
Despite some gains in the past year, Hollywood still has inclusion problems, study says | radmarya | September 10, 2020 | Fortune
Taraji manages to bring an equal measure of truth to the mother in her character.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist | Judnick Mayard | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTI still do find it a tremendously useful device to invent a character and have the character sing the song.
You were basically the guy to do every dictator or crazy character, from Gaddafi and Ahmadinejad to Bin Laden.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness | Marlow Stern | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTOur fans have seen all our sketches, so we wanted to give them something a little deeper about each character.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness | Marlow Stern | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTForget those silly “games played with the ball”; they are far “too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind.”
I, therefore, deliver it as a maxim, that whoever desires the character of a proud man ought to conceal his vanity.
Pearls of Thought | Maturin M. BallouIt is the development of character, the triumph of intellectuality and spirituality I have striven to express.'
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D. | Clara Erskine ClementShe never realized that the reserve of her own character had much, perhaps everything, to do with this.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinMessa urges the king to send a new governor, and gives his advice as to the character of him who should be sent.
Some peculiar lines between these contracted brows gave a character of ferocity to this forbidding and sensual face.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
British Dictionary definitions for character
/ (ˈkærɪktə) /
the combination of traits and qualities distinguishing the individual nature of a person or thing
one such distinguishing quality; characteristic
moral force; integrity: a man of character
reputation, esp a good reputation
(as modifier): character assassination
a summary or account of a person's qualities and achievements; testimonial: my last employer gave me a good character
capacity, position, or status: he spoke in the character of a friend rather than a father
a person represented in a play, film, story, etc; role
an outstanding person: one of the great characters of the century
informal an odd, eccentric, or unusual person: he's quite a character
an informal word for person a shady character
a symbol used in a writing system, such as a letter of the alphabet
Also called: sort printing any single letter, numeral, punctuation mark, or symbol cast as a type
computing any letter, numeral, etc, which is a unit of information and can be represented uniquely by a binary pattern
a style of writing or printing
genetics any structure, function, attribute, etc, in an organism, which may or may not be determined by a gene or group of genes
a short prose sketch of a distinctive type of person, usually representing a vice or virtue
in character typical of the apparent character of a person or thing
out of character not typical of the apparent character of a person or thing
to write, print, inscribe, or engrave
rare to portray or represent
Origin of character
1Derived forms of character
- characterful, adjective
- characterless, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for character
[ kăr′ək-tər ]
Genetics A structure, function, or attribute determined by a gene or a group of genes.
Computer Science A symbol, such as a letter, number, or punctuation mark, that occupies one byte of memory. See more at ASCII.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for character
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with character
see in character; out of character.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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