as in qualities
something that sets apart an individual from others of the same kind
the ability to fashion tools and other characteristics that distinguish human beings from other animals
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of characteristics
Jean-Claude Manuguerra, who heads Pasteur's Environment and Infectious Risk unit, said the remaining variation appeared to reflect natural viral variation and did not seem to affect the characteristics of the virus detected among travelers.
—
CBS News, 16 May 2026
Flock Safety's license plate reader technology captures vehicle information, including license plates and vehicle characteristics such as make, model and color on the property.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 16 May 2026
One of the defining characteristics of Nicole Wise’s first season as the Mater Dei softball coach surfaced again Thursday.
—Dan Albano, Oc Register, 15 May 2026
The war in Iraq had its own components, its own characteristics, its own conditions.
—Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Like a habañero, this type of advisor may still fit certain financial situations, provided individuals understand the specific characteristics of the relationship.
—Wes Moss, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Hankey will show some birds of prey and discuss their characteristics and adaptions.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 May 2026
Similar to Wilson, Hodges understands the importance of work ethic, which is one of the many shared characteristics that first brought them together.
—Emily Weaver, PEOPLE, 14 May 2026
While acknowledging that antisemites may have good characteristics—a loving husband, a generous and conscientious citizen—Sartre claimed that their hatred ultimately defines them.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 8 May 2026
CBS News, 16 May 2026
Flock Safety's license plate reader technology captures vehicle information, including license plates and vehicle characteristics such as make, model and color on the property.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 16 May 2026
One of the defining characteristics of Nicole Wise’s first season as the Mater Dei softball coach surfaced again Thursday.
—Dan Albano, Oc Register, 15 May 2026
The war in Iraq had its own components, its own characteristics, its own conditions.
—Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Like a habañero, this type of advisor may still fit certain financial situations, provided individuals understand the specific characteristics of the relationship.
—Wes Moss, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Hankey will show some birds of prey and discuss their characteristics and adaptions.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 May 2026
Similar to Wilson, Hodges understands the importance of work ethic, which is one of the many shared characteristics that first brought them together.
—Emily Weaver, PEOPLE, 14 May 2026
While acknowledging that antisemites may have good characteristics—a loving husband, a generous and conscientious citizen—Sartre claimed that their hatred ultimately defines them.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 8 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for characteristics
Noun
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Benefits of Almonds for Heart Health While combining dark chocolate and almonds has a positive impact on heart health, each food provides distinct cardioprotective qualities that contribute to these benefits.—
Anna Giorgi,
Verywell Health,
14 May 2026
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The juries will hate its repetitive qualities, but the public will embrace its deep, profound, abiding grooviness.—
Glen Weldon,
NPR,
14 May 2026
Noun
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More to Explore The researchers found that faces that were rated as more attractive were rated more highly across all positive traits—not just competence, but intelligence, responsibility, and other traits—and were rated lower on all negative traits.—
Ben Ambridge,
JSTOR Daily,
15 May 2026
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Nagatitan belonged to a subgroup of sauropods that possessed bones with lots of internal air sacs and thin walls, traits that lightened their skeletons.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Both books feature protagonists who are out of their elements but also possess unique attributes that first get them into trouble before becoming their one slim hope to escape.—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2026
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That makes a lot of sense for Subaru buyers, who value those attributes.—
Kristin Shaw,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Noun
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Food and drink The Alexandar Bar is one of the hotel’s stand-out features.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
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Its drafting features combine deterministic drafting with AI to enable complex and accurate drafting at scale.—
AllBusiness,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Noun
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Political discussions on social media are often dominated by competing attributions of more and more insidious motives to people on the other side.—
Mark Schroeder,
The Conversation,
20 Feb. 2026
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This post was corrected on 21 January 2021 to clarify attributions.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
12 Jan. 2021
Noun
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Both the Long Range and the Citizens Bond Advisory committees were tasked with coming up with the criteria that would be used by the district to make recommendations.—
Fousia Abdullahi,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 May 2026
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The name change does not alter diagnosis criteria, and both terms will be used until new guidelines are released in 2028.—
Abby Norman,
Verywell Health,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Characteristics.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/characteristics. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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