Character
WordNet
noun
(1) (genetics) an attribute (structural or functional) that is determined by a gene or group of genes
(2) The inherent complex of attributes that determine a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions
"Education has for its object the formation of character"- Herbert Spencer
(3) A characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something
"Each town has a quality all its own"
"The radical character of our demands"
(4) An actor's portrayal of someone in a play
"She played the part of Desdemona"
(5) A formal recommendation by a former employer to a potential future employer describing the person's qualifications and dependability
"Requests for character references are all to often answered evasively"
(6) A written symbol that is used to represent speech
"The Greek alphabet has 24 characters"
(7) An imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
"She is the main character in the novel"
(8) A person of a specified kind (usually with many eccentricities)
"A real character"
"A strange character"
"A friendly eccentric"
"The capable type"
"A mental case"
(9) Good repute
"He is a man of character"
verb
(10) Engrave or inscribe characters on
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From , from , from from .
Noun
- A being involved in the action of a story.
- A written or printed symbol, or letter
- A distinguishing feature; characteristic; A complex of mental and ethical traits marking a person or a group.
- A moral strength.
- "You may not like to eat liver," said Calvin's father, "but it builds character."
- A person with many notable or eccentric features.
- A complex number representing an element of a finite Abelian group.
- One of the basic elements making up a text file or string: a code representing a printing character or a control character. Synonymous with byte in some environments.
Usage notes
A comparison of character and reputation: It would be well if character and reputation were used distinctively. In truth, character is what a person is; reputation is what he is supposed to be. Character is in himself, reputation is in the minds of others. Character is injured by temptations, and by wrongdoing; reputation by slanders, and libels. Character endures throughout defamation in every form, but perishes when there is a voluntary transgression; reputation may last through numerous transgressions, but be destroyed by a single, and even an unfounded, accusation or aspersion.
Related terms
- characterise, characterize
- characterisation, characterization
- characteristic