acquired character

American  

noun

Genetics.

1. a noninheritable character that results from certain environmental influences.

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Etymology

Origin of acquired character

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

The stadium isn’t old enough to feel outdated but is old enough to have acquired character.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 7, 2024

Deneuve, the darling of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 32 years ago, has aged gracefully; her face has acquired character, a kind of pinched authority.

From Time Magazine Archive

When we say that a man has acquired character, we mean that he has consciously surveyed certain large tracts of life, and has decided what in those regions it is best to do.

From The Nature of Goodness by Palmer, George Herbert

Victory for the present rests with those who deny the possibility of such inheritance, and disease is emphatically an acquired character.

From Preventable Diseases by Hutchinson, Woods

An acquired character is simply a modification, due to some cause external to the germ-plasm acting on an inborn character.

From Applied Eugenics by Popenoe, Paul