uncharacteristic

adjective

un·​char·​ac·​ter·​is·​tic ˌən-ˌker-ik-tə-ˈri-stik 

-ˌka-rik-

: not characteristic : not typical or distinctive

uncharacteristic outbursts of temper

uncharacteristically

ˌən-ˌker-ik-tə-ˈri-sti-k(ə-)lē 

-ˌka-rik-

adverb

Examples of uncharacteristic in a Sentence

It was an uncharacteristic outburst of temper.

Her uncharacteristic silence bothered me.

Recent Examples on the Web

Although the Lakers have had success of their own, the past decade has been somewhat uncharacteristic by their standards. —Ricardo Klein, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025

The physical and mental toll of this system has shown in the latter parts of the season, with Martinez, who turns 33 on May 17, making some uncharacteristic errors in judgement. —Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 16 May 2025

Toronto made it 4-1 in the second period as a player who’d scored only three goals all season, Chris Tanev, bounced the puck past Bobrovsky to his right — an uncharacteristic plain miss by the veteran goaltender. —Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 6 May 2025

The joint letter is uncharacteristic, if not unprecedented, for the automotive industry. —Michael Wayland, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1748, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for uncharacteristic

• deuteronomistic
• imperialistic
• materialistic
• nondeterministic
• nonrelativistic
• oligopolistic
• particularistic
• sociolinguistic
• universalistic
• agonistic
• altruistic
• animistic