Skip to main content
character

character

11 6.8
A physical trait passed from parents, for example eye color
  • noun
  • /ˈkɛrɪktər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : rasgo
  • Bacteria were identified on the basis of pooled observations of colony characters, microscopic morphology, and biochemical profiles.
  • genetic character
  • inheritance of characters

It's not going to change the character trait of the dominant flaw.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • As the animals adapted to aquatic environments, changes occurred in most anatomical characters, from teeth to tail.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Each organism has unique genetic character traits that contribute to its overall appearance.

  • And it took me longer than I thought to read and memorize the six billion characters in your genetic code.

  • There are many characters that have been incorporated into selection indices in developed countries.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Recently, character formation has reemerged as an educational concern, but as yet with little practical results.

    Academic text (1997)
  • The scientist studied the genetic character that determines whether people have blue or brown eyes.

  • Research on the human genome focuses on understanding the character that influences disease susceptibility.

Synonyms

trait
vscharacter
226 3.5

A quality of a person's character that shows how they behave

is about inherited biological attributes determined by genes rather than personal qualities
characteristic
vscharacter
159 3.4

A feature that makes something different from others

is specifically a genetically determined structural or functional feature
unit character
vscharacter
  • Specialized
9.2

A body feature that is controlled by one gene and is either present or absent

is broader, including features caused by several genes rather than only a single gene

Idioms

Not how a person usually behaves

Compounds

The most important person in a story like a book or movie

A person who speaks in court about another person's good character and honesty

15 7.3

Hurts someone's reputation on purpose by spreading false or harmful stories

A person created by an author for a story like a book or film

An actor who plays memorable supporting roles, often unusual characters

A letter from someone who knows a person well that says they are honest and reliable for a future employer

A person who is interesting and unusual in a lively way

A character in a book or film who many people love

A person who is not real and appears in a story, book, or film

character set
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A group of letters, numbers, and symbols used for writing and showing text

character reference
  • Specialized
1 6.9

A text code that tells a web page to show a special character like é

control character
  • Specialized
1 6.3

A hidden computer symbol used to tell a program how to show or move text

character printer
  • Specialized
5.7

A machine that prints letters one at a time

6.9

A printer that prints one letter or number at a time instead of a whole line

check character
  • Specialized
7.1

An extra digit or letter added to the end of a code to find reading errors

epicene character
  • Literature
9.9

A character who looks or acts like both a man and a woman

A written letter that shows a sound in a language

ASCII character
  • Specialized
4.8

A basic letter, number, symbol, or control code like newline that computers store as a standard number

ASCII character set
  • Specialized
5.2

A set of 128 basic computer characters for letters, numbers, symbols, and control codes

7.4

A computer character typed with the control key that tells a program to make a new line or tab

backspace character
  • Specialized
3.9

A code or key that moves the cursor one space left to erase the last thing typed

A person who feels very close to a fictional character and sees themselves in that character

8.5

Thinking you are the most important person in most situations

A character in a game controlled by the game, not a player

7.4

A person who repeats the same words or actions without thinking

primary sex character
  • Specialized
8.8

Body parts used for having babies, like genitals, that show if someone is male or female

7.4

A physical feature that differs between males and females, like body hair or a deep voice

sex character
  • Specialized
7.0

A physical or mental trait typical of one sex

A woman in a story shown as untidy and often having many sexual partners

unit character
  • Specialized
9.2

A body feature that is controlled by one gene and is either present or absent

vixen character
  • Literature
8.4

A woman in stories or films who uses charm and looks to attract and influence others

A person in a story who is amusingly odd and playful

Surface Forms

character singular
characters plural

Etymology

The word character comes from the old Greek kharaktēr, meaning 'a mark' or 'stamp'. In biology, a genetic character is a feature or trait, like eye colour, that acts as a 'mark' showing how an organism is made.