out of character
22
4.2
- idiom
:
poco habitual
- Her sudden outburst was very out of character, as she is normally quiet and reserved.
And I was like, OK, this is pretty serious and weird and out of character.
- And I was like, OK, this is pretty serious and weird and out of character.
- It's something about the helplessness of seeing a loved one acting very out of character.
- Like just stuff that you didn't want to know, stuff that he did that was totally out of character.
- So the first guy was very good looking on his profile and for some reason, like I didn't Google him, which is so out of character for me.
- Paul Feig talks about how he wrote the script for Spy, focusing not on what funny things he could do, but what comic moments would come out of character.
- If your chef is not in a good mood today, he's now going to burn this rice or he's going to do something maybe out of character or, or or something.
- It was because I was in such a out of character mindset that I just did things that I would never do.
- So when when these people get out of character, not controlling emotion, it it it lives and it dies there me it it goes a whole nother direction.
- The composure that you have among slander, amongst jokes, shit that got racist and understanding, like you're not going to Get Me Out of character.
Examples
-
Megan Nolan, one of Irisk's roommates, said this was "out of character" for her.
Blog text (19) -
l hear you did something rather out of character today.
-
That was very out of character for me.
-
This is all really out of character for him.
-
You have to admit, it's a little out of character.
-
But I'll have you know, this is way out of character for me.
-
The Cloudman's reaction was so out of character, it threw me for a loop.
Fiction book (2000) -
The purchase was very out of character; my mother had always been a frugal and efficient shopper.
Fiction book (2002) -
Rachel shook her head with a helplessness that was almost jarringly out of character.
Fiction book (1998) -
Such presumptuousness was out of character for me, and I hoped my showing up unannounced wouldn't frighten her.
Fiction book (2000)
Synonyms
48
4.1
Not usual and different from what people expect
27
5.7
Different from what is usual or expected
14
5.4
Not usual for a person or thing
1
6.2
Not usual for people or things of the same kind
Not usual or expected
Antonyms
How Unusual
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'out' (meaning not in or outside), the prepositional link 'of', and 'character' (personality/typical behaviour), so its meaning 'not typical of a person's usual behavior' is directly inferable from the constituents. This compositional pattern (out of X = not in X) is common cross-linguistically and follows regular English usage, so a B1 learner who knows the words would likely understand it.
Etymology
Out of character comes from the world of actors and the stage: if an actor did not act like their character, people said they were 'out of character'. That's why the phrase now means 'not typical of a person's usual behavior'.