character

[ kar-ik-ter ]

noun

1. the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.
2. one such feature or trait; characteristic.
3. moral or ethical quality:

   a man of fine, honorable character.

4. qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity:

   It takes character to face up to a bully.

5. reputation:

   a stain on one's character.

   Synonyms: repute, name

6. good repute.
7. an account of the qualities or peculiarities of a person or thing.
8. a person, especially with reference to behavior or personality:

   a suspicious character.

9. Informal. an odd, eccentric, or unusual person.
10. a person represented in a drama, story, etc.
11. a part or role, as in a play or film.
12. a symbol as used in a writing system, as a letter of the alphabet.
13. the symbols of a writing system collectively.
14. a significant visual mark or symbol.

    Synonyms: sign

15. status or capacity:

    the character of a justice of the peace.

16. a written statement from an employer concerning the qualities of a former employee.
17. 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.
18. Genetics. any trait, function, structure, or substance of an organism resulting from the effect of one or more genes as modified by the environment.
19. Computers.
    1. any symbol, as a number, letter, punctuation mark, etc., that represents data and that, when encoded, is usable by a machine.
    2. 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.
20. a style of writing or printing.
21. Roman Catholic Theology. the ineffaceable imprint received on the soul through the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and ordination.
22. (formerly) a cipher or cipher message.

adjective

1. Theater.
   1. (of a part or role) representing a personality type, especially by emphasizing distinctive traits, as language, mannerisms, physical makeup, etc.
   2. (of an actor or actress) acting or specializing in such roles.

verb (used with object)

, Archaic.

1. to portray; describe.
2. to engrave; inscribe.

character

/ ˈkærɪktə /

noun

1. the combination of traits and qualities distinguishing the individual nature of a person or thing
2. one such distinguishing quality; characteristic
3. moral force; integrity

   a man of character

4. 1. reputation, esp a good reputation
   2. ( as modifier )

      character assassination

5. a summary or account of a person's qualities and achievements; testimonial

   my last employer gave me a good character

6. capacity, position, or status

   he spoke in the character of a friend rather than a father

7. a person represented in a play, film, story, etc; role
8. an outstanding person

   one of the great characters of the century

9. informal.
   an odd, eccentric, or unusual person

   he's quite a character

10. an informal word for person

    a shady character

11. a symbol used in a writing system, such as a letter of the alphabet
12. Also calledsort printing any single letter, numeral, punctuation mark, or symbol cast as a type
13. computing any letter, numeral, etc, which is a unit of information and can be represented uniquely by a binary pattern
14. a style of writing or printing
15. genetics any structure, function, attribute, etc, in an organism, which may or may not be determined by a gene or group of genes
16. a short prose sketch of a distinctive type of person, usually representing a vice or virtue
17. in character
    typical of the apparent character of a person or thing
18. out of character
    not typical of the apparent character of a person or thing

verb

1. to write, print, inscribe, or engrave
2. rare.
   to portray or represent

character

/ kăr′ək-tər /

1. Genetics.
   A structure, function, or attribute determined by a gene or a group of genes.
2. Computer Science.
   A symbol, such as a letter, number, or punctuation mark, that occupies one byte of memory.
3. Computer Science.
   See more at ASCII

character

1. A person in a literary work. For example, Ebenezer Scrooge is a character in A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens .

Derived Forms

• ˈcharacterful, adjective
• ˈcharacterless, adjective

Other Words From

• char·ac·ter·less adjective
• un·char·ac·tered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of character¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; from Latin, from Greek charaktḗr “graving tool, mark from an engraving tool,” equivalent to charak- (base of charáttein “to engrave”) + -tēr, agent suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of character¹

C14: from Latin: distinguishing mark, from Greek kharaktēr engraver's tool, from kharassein to engrave, stamp

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in character,
   1. in harmony with one's personal character or disposition:

      Such behavior is not in character for him.

   2. in accordance with the role or personality assumed in a performance:

      an actor in character.

2. out of character,
   1. out of harmony with one's personal character or disposition:

      Her remarks were out of character.

   2. away from the role or personality assumed in a performance:

      The actor stepped out of character.

More idioms and phrases containing character

see in character ; out of character .

Synonym Study

Character, individuality, personality refer to the sum of the characteristics possessed by a person. Character refers especially to moral qualities, ethical standards, principles, and the like: a man of sterling character. Individuality refers to the distinctive qualities that make one recognizable as a person differentiated from others: a woman of strong individuality. Personality refers particularly to the combination of outer and inner characteristics that determine the impression that a person makes upon others: a child of vivid or pleasing personality. See reputation.

Example Sentences

In both “Say Nothing,” and “The Diplomat,” Kinnear’s accent serves to separate his characters from the shows’ protagonists — various members of the IRA in the former and U.S. ambassador to the U.K.

From Los Angeles Times

Variety reported that the show will now begin casting new voice actors for her several characters.

From Salon

Do you think a character like Ms. Howard could exist in Hollywood 20 or 30 years ago?

From Salon

It’s a measure of the strength of Max's character that he has managed to handle this with such equanimity, especially as the team’s competitive form was falling away at the same time.

From BBC

The movie is most effective in creating a rooting interest for Purdy’s character, while the maestro Nighy gets a nice juicy monologue at the end that he of course makes a meal of.

From New York Times

Related Words

• aspect
• cast
• humor
• kind
• nature
• personality
• quality
• sense
• spirit
• style
• tone
• type

More About Character

What does character mean?

A character is a person in a story, as in Princess Leia is my favorite Star Wars character.

A character is someone who appears in a story, whether the story is fiction or nonfiction. It can also be used to refer to a role in a play or film that an actor plays, as in Tony’s character in the play doesn’t have any lines, but he’s still important to the plot.

Character is also the collection of features and traits that make a person’s image and personality, as in Ishir’s character was one of honesty and friendship. If someone seems characterless, they don’t have traits that stand out, although everyone has personality traits.

Character can also refer to a person’s moral or ethical quality. If you are a person of good character, you are trustworthy and reliable.

Related to that, if you have character, you are honest and courageous or have integrity.

Additionally, a character is a specific symbol or image that is used in writing messages. The words you are reading are written in letters, or characters, that make up the Latin alphabet. Punctuation marks and numerals (1, IX) are also characters. They are called symbols as well.

Example: I can’t believe that my favorite character died in the show last night.

Where does character come from?

The first records of the term character come from around the 1270s. It ultimately comes from the Greek charaktḗr, meaning “graving tool or its mark.” A character meaning “mark” can refer to a symbol or a letter.

In acting, the idioms in character and out of character are used to describe whether an actor is speaking as their role (in character) or as themselves (out of character). You can also use these idioms to describe how someone is acting. If your brother usually sleeps until noon, it is in character for him to sleep until noon and out of character to sleep only until 10 am.

Did you know … ?

What are some other forms related to character?

• characterful (adjective)
• characterless (adjective)
• uncharactered (adjective)

What are some synonyms for character?

• aspect
• integrity
• personality
• type
• role

What are some words that share a root or word element with character? 

• characteristic
• character actor
• uncharacteristic

What are some words that often get used in discussing character?

• build
• development
• favorite
• plot

How is character used in real life?

As a letter or symbol, character almost always references a written work. As a trait, it normally references a specific person.

if you wanna see the true character of person watch the way they treat someone who can't do anything for them.

— ye (@kanyewest) April 19, 2018

Reading lots of feedback regarding Dragon Age, and I think you’ll be relieved to see what the team is working on. Story & character focused.

Too early to talk details, but when we talk about “live” it just means designing a game for continued storytelling after the main story.

— Casey Hudson (@CaseyDHudson) January 25, 2018

why does creating a password require a capital letter, number, special character, and math problem but someone can just accidentally press the wrong button to send ballistic missle alerts

— manny (@mannyfidel) January 13, 2018

 

Try using character!

Is character used correctly in the following sentence?

It takes a lot of character to leave your hometown and start all over.