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

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noun

• characteristics
  plural

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

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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

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Synonym Usage

See feature.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• characteristics
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of characteristic

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

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Explanation

If something is a characteristic of someone or something, it is a feature you would expect. A characteristic of classical-style architecture is large stone columns. A characteristic of poodles is their pom-pom like tails. A characteristic feature needn't just be a something physically apparent, it can describe a type of personality or atmosphere as well, as in: "The characteristic of all funeral homes is their gloomy air." As their spelling and meaning implies, there is a close link between the words characteristic and character, meaning the essential nature of a thing, and in fact both words come from the ancient Greek kharackter, meaning a "symbol or imprint on the soul."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

characteristic characteristics

Mesosaurs have long interested paleontologists because they gave birth to live young, a characteristic some researchers have interpreted as evidence of a fully aquatic existence.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

Patients must meet certain criteria for a diagnosis: a combination of clinical symptoms and lesions characteristic of MS that show up on an MRI scan of the brain and spinal cord.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Unlike Luca’s freestanding work, however, Andrea’s is a relief—the characteristic white figures against a blue background.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

She is beautiful and desirable, but her sexuality isn’t the defining characteristic of her existence — something we don’t see enough when it comes to Latina roles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

I suspect that the distinction between a maternal and a paternal instinct is scarcely worth making; the parental instinct, the wish to protect, to further, is not a sex-linked characteristic….

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

Ability, pace and character are the characteristics they will need in pretty much every outfield position but, from where they are now, achieving that will not happen quickly.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

They used two approaches, maximum parsimony and Bayesian tip-dating, to compare anatomical characteristics and reconstruct the species' position on the evolutionary tree.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

This suggests that glioblastoma cells may acquire comparable invasive characteristics through different underlying biological processes.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

British police devised the first criminal identification record of distinctive marks, and, in France, Alphonse Bertillon developed a system of anthropometry, or measuring and cataloging physical characteristics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

“The fact that the white race has the same problems proves these are not Negro characteristics, but the product of our condition as men,” I said.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin

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Related Words

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

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