character

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“
His countenance showed his character, and his character was a witness to the truth of his physiognomy.

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Definitions (75)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (26)

  1. noun The combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another. See Synonyms at disposition.
  2. noun A distinguishing feature or attribute, as of an individual, group, or category. See Synonyms at quality.
  3. noun Genetics A structure, function, or attribute determined by a gene or group of genes.
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Examples (50)

  • Video: Girl 1: Yeah, my character is usually a tomboy Her's is more into boys. —  Brenda Laurel on games for girls
  • Man, no longer the representative of an august will , man the passion-puppet of fate, could not with any effect display what we call a character, which is a distinction between man and man, emanating originally from the will, and expressing its determinations, moving under the large variety of human impulses. —  Biographical Essays
  • "Big but with superpowers", something rather limiting, but essentially the case, for the character is a teenager who can change into a fully fledged superhero with the utterance of the word, but inside he's still a teenager. —  Filmstalker
  • In practice I think anybody will identify with any lead, regardless of gender, as long as their character is appealing and admirable (or enticingly antiheroic). —  the Hathor Legacy
  • Rather than film a stunt actor and stage the action so that it seems like the character was actually falling, the editors took a still of her and rotated it around on the screen. —  Toon Zone News
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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

nature ·  quality ·  manner ·  idea ·  history ·  beauty ·  appearance ·  name

Used in the same contextWord Family

character:   characters
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English carecter, distinctive mark, imprint on the soul, from Old French caractere, from Latin charactēr, from Greek kharaktēr, from kharassein, to inscribe, from kharax, kharak-, pointed stick.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English caracter (usually shortened caract, a mark: see charact) = French caractère = Spanish carácter = Portuguese caracter, character = Italian carattere = D. G. Danish Swedish karakter, from Latin character, from Greek χαρακτήρ, properly an instrument for marking or graving, commonly a mark engraved or impressed, a figure, any distinctive mark, a personal feature, peculiar nature or character, from χαράσσ, σ1ειν, furrow, scratch, engrave.
  2. from character, n.
 

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/ˈkæræktər/
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