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

Etymology

Origin of characteristic

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

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

Instead, it has a characteristic dark collar marking.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

Rather than softening the edge that helps define Monk, this strategy highlights another essential Monk characteristic: an air of mystery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Scientists do not currently agree on exactly what belongs in that category, a problem Kennedy summarized with characteristic bluntness: “If you can’t define a problem, you can’t solve it.”

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

This is probably the most important characteristic of a refresher.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

We had discovered with Mariner 9 that characteristic changes in the bright and dark patterns on the Martian surface occur during times of high winds.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

They called the court’s attention to Pike’s “individual physical characteristics that include, but are not limited to, Thrombocytopenia/Thrombocytosis, Bipolar disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, hyperlipidemia, and small veins that make insertion of a needle difficult.”

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

The researchers saw similar characteristics in A. syrax.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

He said Cash App was developing Tags before TikTok magic-wand videos went mainstream, as the company was looking for ways to take the unique characteristics of the Cash App debit card “to the next level.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

But Schlittler was tall, standing a 6-foot-6, and he had other physical and mechanical characteristics that led the Yankees to believe he could throw harder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

He’d jotted down notes after their rooftop conversation with TimeStar, recorded TimeStar’s physical characteristics in great detail.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

Related Words

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