character

noun char·ac·ter \ ˈker-ik-tər , ˈka-rik- \

Definition of character

1 a :a conventionalized graphic device placed on an object as an indication of ownership, origin, or relationship

b :a graphic symbol (such as a hieroglyph or alphabet letter) used in writing or printing

c :a magical or astrological emblem

d :alphabet

e (1) :writing, printing

(2) :style of writing or printing

You know the character to be your brother's?
—Shakespeare

(3) :cipher

f :a symbol (such as a letter or number) that represents information

mathematical characters

; also :a representation of such a symbol that may be accepted by a computer

2 a :one of the attributes (see ¹attribute 1) or features that make up and distinguish an individual

This is a side of her character that few people have seen.

b (1) :a feature used to separate distinguishable things into categories; also :a group or kind so separated

advertising of a very primitive character

(2) :the detectable expression of the action of a gene or group of genes

(3) :the aggregate of distinctive qualities characteristic of a breed, strain, or type

a wine of great character

c :the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation

the character of the American people

d :main or essential nature especially as strongly marked and serving to distinguish

excess sewage gradually changed the character of the lake

3 :position, capacity

his character as a town official

4 :reference 4b

5 :reputation

the scandal has damaged his character and image

6 :moral excellence and firmness

a man of sound character

7 a :a person marked by notable or conspicuous traits

quite a character

b :one of the persons of a drama or novel

c :the personality or part which an actor recreates

an actress who can create a character convincingly

d :characterization especially in drama or fiction

a novelist good in both character and setting

e :person, individual

a suspicious character

8 :a short literary sketch of the qualities of a social type

—

characterless

play \-ləs\ adjective

— in character

:in accord with a person's usual qualities or traits

behaving in character

— out of character

:not in accord with a person's usual qualities or traits

his rudeness was completely out of character

See character defined for English-language learners

See character defined for kids

Examples of character in a Sentence

… this makes everyone believe not only that anyone can be a parent, but also that everyone ought to do it, even those who seem by character or inclination to be ill equipped. —Anna Quindlen, Newsweek, 27 Apr. 2009
Someone with Alzheimer's may undergo a regression to a "second childhood," but aspects of one's essential character, of personality and personhood, of self, survive … —Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia, (2007) 2008
"Beat" is old carny slang. According to Beat Movement legend (and it is a movement with a deep inventory of legend), Ginsberg and Kerouac picked it up from a character named Herbert Huncke, a gay street hustler and drug addict from Chicago who began hanging around Times Square in 1939 … —Louis Menand, New Yorker, 1 Oct. 2007
Slowly, steadily, Och and Chris passed along their knowledge of the characterof various courses, and the way a race evolves tactically. —Lance Armstrong, It's Not About the Bike, (2000) 2001
Her character struck the Swede back then as a compound in which you'd find just about everything toxic to desperation and dread. At the core of her he could imagine a nucleus of confidence plaited just as neatly and tightly as her braided hair. —Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997
the unique character of the town
The building is very simple in character.
Their house has a lot of character.

Recent Examples of character from the Web

Strength, charity, and resilience are those characters.

— david a. graham, The Atlantic, "Trump's Empathy Deficit," 29 Aug. 2017
This tolerance may have reflected his experience with the Quakers, who did not seek to judge the character of any man’s faith.

— Longreads, "America’s First Addiction Epidemic," 29 Aug. 2017
Ms. Allen, on whom the Mama Darleena character is based, is 72 and still lives in Chicago.

— sophie haigney, New York Times, "To Play Transgender, Sandra Caldwell Had to Open Up About Who She Is," 28 Aug. 2017
While Taylor's vindictive lyrics are subject to interpretation, they are remarkably well-suited to the characters of Shondaland, who've been made to do plenty of things — treason, murder, adultery, perjury, more murder.

— eliza thompson, Cosmopolitan, "Taylor Swift's New Song Already Has a Starring Role in the New #TGIT Promo," 25 Aug. 2017
Citing costs which are in reality utterly negligible, President Trump made a broad and sweeping announcement of this ban, 140 characters at a time.

— robert bateman, Esquire, "A Few Words About My Friend Michelle, and Trump's Transgender Military Ban," 24 Aug. 2017
With the exception of Olenna Tyrell, every major character who has been put in mortal danger in Season Seven has wriggled out of it.

— scott meslow, GQ, "It's Time for Game of Thrones to Kill Tyrion Lannister," 24 Aug. 2017
Best parts are Christopher Meloni's continued weirdness as Gene, and Michael Showalter playing his character of Coop completely sincerely and giving the show a bit of heart.

— zach buchanan, Cincinnati.com, "BAR: Should the Reds give Zack Cozart a qualifying offer?," 23 Aug. 2017
While other characters seemed tense — desperation seething just beneath the surface of their White Party outfits — Vanderpump seemed to enjoy everything about being rich.

— allison p. davis, The Cut, "Lisa Vanderpump Is the Royalty America Craves," 23 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'character.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Traits of character

Character demonstrates that a word may have many and varied meanings and yet still be easily understood by most listeners when used in disparate settings. We have little trouble distinguishing the meanings of the noun in “she had a fine and noble character,” “Bill is always joking; he’s such a character,” and “He was the last character to appear in the play,” not to mention its many other applications. Character comes ultimately from the Greek charaktēr (“mark, distinctive quality”), which passed through Latin and French before landing in English. The Greek noun itself is derived from the verb charassein, meaning “to sharpen, cut in furrows, or engrave.” The literal sense of the noun (“an engraved or imprinted mark”) existed in Greek, Latin, and French side by side with the figurative one (“a distinctive quality”), and both senses were borrowed into English early on, with a variant of the figurative sense appearing first.

Origin and Etymology of character

Middle English caracter, from Latin character mark, distinctive quality, from Greek charaktēr, from charassein to scratch, engrave; perhaps akin to Lithuanian žerti to scratch

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

character Synonyms

Synonyms

glyph, icon (also ikon), sign, symbol

Antonyms

badness, evil, evildoing, immorality, iniquity, sin, villainy, wickedness

Related Words

cipher, letter, numeral; hieroglyph, ideogram, pictogram, pictograph; rune

Near Antonyms

conformer, conformist, follower, sheep

Synonym Discussion of character

disposition, temperament, temper, character, personality mean the dominant quality or qualities distinguishing a person or group. disposition implies customary moods and attitude toward the life around one.

- a cheerful disposition

temperament implies a pattern of innate characteristics associated with one's specific physical and nervous organization.

- an artistic temperament

temper implies the qualities acquired through experience that determine how a person or group meets difficulties or handles situations.

- a resilient temper

character applies to the aggregate of moral qualities by which a person is judged apart from intelligence, competence, or special talents.

- strength of character

personality applies to an aggregate of qualities that distinguish one as a person.

- a somber personality

quality, property, character, attribute mean an intelligible feature by which a thing may be identified. quality is a general term applicable to any trait or characteristic whether individual or generic.

- material with a silky quality

property implies a characteristic that belongs to a thing's essential nature and may be used to describe a type or species.

- the property of not conducting heat

character applies to a peculiar and distinctive quality of a thing or a class.

- remarks of an unseemly character

attribute implies a quality ascribed to a thing or a being.

- the attributes of a military hero

type, kind, sort, nature, description, character mean a number of individuals thought of as a group because of a common quality or qualities. type may suggest strong and clearly marked similarity throughout the items included so that each is typical of the group.

- one of three basic body types

kind may suggest natural grouping.

- a zoo seemingly having animals of every kind

sort often suggests some disparagement.

- the sort of newspaper dealing in sensational stories

nature may imply inherent, essential resemblance rather than obvious or superficial likenesses.

- two problems of a similar nature

description implies a group marked by agreement in all details belonging to a type as described or defined.

- not all acts of that description are actually illegal

character implies a group marked by distinctive likenesses peculiar to the type.

- research on the subject so far has been of an elementary character

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

character

verb char·ac·ter \ ˈker-ik-tər , ˈka-rik- \

Definition of character

transitive verb

1 archaic :engrave, inscribe

2 a archaic :represent, portray

b :characterize

Examples of character in a Sentence

formerly charactered as “the dark ages,” that period of history may not have been quite so benighted as once thought

Recent Examples of character from the Web

His commitment to character impressed the man himself.

— jonas shaffer, baltimoresun.com, "Orioles' Adam Jones is real star of the night at Baltimore's WWE Extreme Rules," 5 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of character

see ¹character

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1555

See Words from the same year

character Synonyms

Synonyms

characterize, define, depict, describe, portray, represent

Related Words

categorize, classify, pigeonhole, type; color, identify, indicate, name, specify; distinguish, individualize, mark, particularize, stamp

character

adjective char·ac·ter \ ˈker-ik-tər , ˈka-rik- \

Definition of character

1 :capable of portraying an unusual or eccentric personality often markedly different from the player

a character actor

2 :requiring or involving the portrayal of an unusual or eccentric personality

a character role

Recent Examples of character from the Web

Character witnesses for Storm include a parade of foster puppies the Freeleys have taken in over the last month.

— sarah maslin nir, New York Times, "Dog Praised as Hero for Saving Deer (Whether He Meant To or Not)," 18 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of character

see ¹character

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1841

See Words from the same year

Other Performing Arts Terms

diva, dramaturgy, loge, prestidigitation, proscenium, supernumerary, zany

CHARACTER Defined for English Language Learners

character

noun

Definition of character for English Language Learners

: the way someone thinks, feels, and behaves : someone's personality
: a set of qualities that are shared by many people in a group, country, etc.
: a set of qualities that make a place or thing different from other places or things

CHARACTER Defined for Kids

character

noun char·ac·ter \ ˈker-ək-tər \

Definition of character for Students

1 :a mark, sign, or symbol (as a letter or figure) used in writing or printing

2 :the group of qualities that make a person, group, or thing different from others

The town has special character.

3 :a distinguishing feature :characteristic

the plant's bushy character

4 :a person who says or does funny or unusual things

Your friend is quite a character.

5 :a person in a story or play

6 :the usually good opinions that most people have about a particular person :reputation

She made an attack on his character.

7 :moral excellence

She is a person of character known for her honesty.

Medical Dictionary

character

noun char·ac·ter \ ˈkar-ik-tər \

medical Definition of character

1 :one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish the individual

2 :the detectable expression of the action of a gene or group of genes

3 :the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation

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character

Definition of character

characterless

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Origin and Etymology of character

character Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

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Synonym Discussion of character

Other Psychology Terms

character

Definition of character

Examples of character in a Sentence

Recent Examples of character from the Web

Origin and Etymology of character

character Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

character

Definition of character

Recent Examples of character from the Web

Origin and Etymology of character

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CHARACTER Defined for English Language Learners

character

Definition of character for English Language Learners

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character

Definition of character for Students

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character

medical Definition of character

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