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
The interface of the desktop website version includes key mission milestones and characteristics about the moon, including information about landing sites during the Apollo era.
—
Doyle Rice, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026
Hegseth exhibits those characteristics, and our soldiers finally have someone to follow.
—Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
This shows that Americans with different mindsets exhibit a willingness to help others, even if their aspirations, motivations and demographic characteristics differ.
—George E. Mitchell, The Conversation, 3 Apr. 2026
The characteristics of individual gods could be hard to pin down.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
These impart softer flavors and characteristics to the finished wines.
—Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 2 Apr. 2026
The latest diagnostic criteria were established in 2003, when a group of 27 experts met in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and reached a consensus on the characteristics necessary to indicate the condition.
—Annalisa Merelli, STAT, 1 Apr. 2026
Riboua argued that the Guards’ ideology can be mainly characterized by a pragmatism with hardliner characteristics.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 28 Mar. 2026
The interactive Olaf can speak and engage in conversations, and his mannerisms and characteristics are spot on.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 28 Mar. 2026
Doyle Rice, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026
Hegseth exhibits those characteristics, and our soldiers finally have someone to follow.
—Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
This shows that Americans with different mindsets exhibit a willingness to help others, even if their aspirations, motivations and demographic characteristics differ.
—George E. Mitchell, The Conversation, 3 Apr. 2026
The characteristics of individual gods could be hard to pin down.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
These impart softer flavors and characteristics to the finished wines.
—Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 2 Apr. 2026
The latest diagnostic criteria were established in 2003, when a group of 27 experts met in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and reached a consensus on the characteristics necessary to indicate the condition.
—Annalisa Merelli, STAT, 1 Apr. 2026
Riboua argued that the Guards’ ideology can be mainly characterized by a pragmatism with hardliner characteristics.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 28 Mar. 2026
The interactive Olaf can speak and engage in conversations, and his mannerisms and characteristics are spot on.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 28 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for characteristics
Noun
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Clicking into the title will give you even more information, including a blurb about what parents need to know, a breakdown of potential concerns and positive qualities about the book, and reviews from kids.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
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Many plants are admired for their striking aesthetic qualities, and flowers such as tulips, lilies, sunflowers, and daisies beautify fields, gardens, windowsills, and bouquets the world over.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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How a child responds to peer pressure can highlight different traits.—
Amy Morin,
Parents,
3 Apr. 2026
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These are seven quietly powerful traits that the most emotionally secure people share.—
Jessica Weiss,
CNBC,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Going beyond the basics of a typical smart scale, the MorphoScan breaks down segmental muscle and fat for each arm, each leg, and your torso, similar to a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, which is essentially a medical imagery test to gauge these same attributes.—
Andrew Gebhart,
PC Magazine,
5 Apr. 2026
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Hints to motivations can be found by looking at California’s net out-migration stats by state and comparing those relocations with rankings of states for various attributes.—
Jeff Goertzen,
Oc Register,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Anything stand out about other services and features?—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Apr. 2026
-
All four astronauts have been studying the moon extensively in their mission preparation, of course, but the precise launch date and time determined the specific features each would target during their all-too-fleeting close encounter, making this review time a necessity.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
4 Apr. 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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Before this, no one in the field had established criteria for what should be included in the archaeological record of dice.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
3 Apr. 2026
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Financial hardship criteria CNC status is reserved for taxpayers facing a challenging financial situation.—
Rebecca Safier,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Characteristics.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/characteristics. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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