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characteristic Definition

char·ac·ter·is·tic (kar′ək tər is′tik, kar′ik-)

adjective

of or constituting the special character; typical; distinctive the characteristic odor of cabbage

Etymology: Gr charaktēristikos: see character

noun

  1. a distinguishing trait, feature, or quality; peculiarity
  2. the whole number, or integral part, of a logarithm, as distinguished from the mantissa 4 is the characteristic of the logarithm 4.7193

characteristic Related Forms

char′·ac·ter·is′·ti·cally adverb

characteristic Synonyms

characteristic

modif.

distinctive, typical, representative, distinguishing, peculiar, individual, idiosyncratic, emblematic, natural, normal, innate, fixed, essential, marked, discriminative, symbolic, individualizing, discriminating, specific, personal, signature, trademark, original, individualistic, differentiating, unique, special, appropriate, particular, symptomatic, private, exclusive, inherent, inborn, inbred, ingrained, native, diagnostic, indicative, diacritical, inseparable, ineradicable, in the blood, true to form; see also natural 1, 2, typical.

Antonyms uncharacteristic, aberrant, unexpected, erratic.

characteristic suggests the indication of a quality that is typical of or peculiar to, and that helps identify, something or someone her characteristic disdain for convention, the characteristic taste of honey; individual and distinctive suggest the possession of a quality or qualities that distinguish something from others of its class or kind, distinctive often adding the implication of excellence an individual, or distinctive, literary style

characteristic Synonyms

characteristic

n.

trait, feature, attribute, quality, property, essential, faculty, peculiarity, idiosyncrasy, individuality, style, aspect, flavor, savor, tone, tinge, distinction, manner, bearing, inclination, nature, personality, temperament, frame, originality, singularity, qualification, virtue, mark, essence, point, turn, caliber, complexion, streak, stripe, particularity, lineament, diagnostic, cast, trick, earmark, mannerism, quirk, trademark, badge, symptom, disposition, specialty, mood, character, endowment, bent, tendency, component, thing*.

characteristic Usage Examples

Preposition: of

citta: Therefore, we should know the difference between the characteristic of kusala citta and of akusala citta.

Converse of object

  • define: Perhaps it is the defining characteristic of people in the early 21 st Century.
  • distinguish: In this case, therefore, he was definitely not like Moses in one of the vital, distinguishing characteristics of his prophethood.
  • possess: Did Muhammad possess these exceptional characteristics by which the prophet was to be recognized?
  • inherit: Genetic Genetic is a term that refers to genes- the characteristics inherited from a family member.
  • exhibit: Plants exhibiting desirable characteristics of flower color, habit, size, variegation, fruit color, flavor etc. are often given names.
  • describe: The author also describes the characteristics of different patterns of inheritance.

Adjective modifier

  • demographic: More severe policy status of recently family demographic characteristics for individuals with disabilities.
  • physical: The CPC classifies products based on the physical characteristics of goods or on the nature of the services rendered.
  • distinctive: One of the most distinctive characteristics of Ray's books, is the attention to detail.
  • socio-economic: SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TENURE GROUPS Different sources provide slightly varying estimates of the size of the main tenure groups.
  • behavioral: The neural and behavioral characteristics that are influenced by hormones appear to include all those that show sex differences.
  • morphological: When a cell undergoes apoptosis, they have distinct morphological characteristics.

Modifies a noun

  • impedance: The communications medium is an excellent foil shielded twisted pair cable with unusually high characteristic impedance.
  • polynomial: The minimum polynomial and its relationship to the characteristic polynomial.
  • feature: Inca Architecture An account of its characteristic features with links to illustrative photographs.

Noun used with modifier

  • handling: Seemed the body of the mic was coupled directly to the capsule, giving it extremely sensetive handling characteristics.
  • dispersion: Most noticeable has always been the high-frequency roll-off that resulted from limited speaker dispersion characteristics.
  • personality: Personal factors include intellectual, motivational, and personality characteristics.
  • baseline: The study groups appear to have been well balanced with respect to baseline characteristics.