characteristic Meaning & Definition
What Does Characteristic Mean?
Characteristic is an adjective that means Indicating a distinguishing feature of a person or thing; typical. It can also mean Describing or pertaining to personal characters or character types; characterful. As a noun, it means A distinguishing feature of a person or thing, a part of mental or physical behavior. As a noun, it means A distinguishing feature of a person or thing.
Characteristic in Brief
| Part of speech | adjective, noun |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˌkæɹəktəˈɹɪstɪk/ |
| Synonyms | distinctive, typical and feature |
| Antonyms | uncharacteristic, uncharacteristic of and untypical |
| Plural | characteristics |
| Comparative / superlative | more characteristic, most characteristic |
Characteristic Definition (Adjective)
- Indicating a distinguishing feature of a person or thing; typical.
- Describing or pertaining to personal characters or character types; characterful.
Characteristic as a Noun
- A distinguishing feature of a person or thing, a part of mental or physical behavior.
- The integer part of a logarithm.
- The distinguishing features of a navigational light on a lighthouse etc by which it can be identified (colour, pattern of flashes etc.).
- For a given field or ring, a natural number that is either the smallest positive number n such that n instances of the multiplicative identity (1) summed together yield the additive identity (0) or, if no such number exists, the number 0.
The characteristic of a field, if non-zero, must be a prime number.
Noun
- A distinguishing feature of a person or thing.
Adjective
- Being a distinguishing feature of a person or thing.
Synonyms of Characteristic
Antonyms of Characteristic
Characteristic in a Sentence
The characteristic of a field, if non-zero, must be a prime number.
Word Forms & Grammar
characteristic (comparative more characteristic, superlative most characteristic)
characteristic (plural characteristics)
Words That Rhyme With Characteristic
Origin of Characteristic
From Ancient Greek χαρακτηριστικός (kharaktēristikós), from χαρακτηρίζω (kharaktērízō, “to designate by a characteristic mark”), from χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “a mark, character”). By surface analysis, character + -istic.
Frequently Asked Questions About Characteristic
Is characteristic an adjective or a noun?
Characteristic is mainly used as an adjective, but it can also be used as a noun.
What is another word for characteristic?
Words with a similar meaning to characteristic include distinctive, typical and feature. See the full list of characteristic synonyms and antonyms.
What is the opposite of characteristic?
The opposite of characteristic can be expressed with words like uncharacteristic, uncharacteristic of and untypical.
What is the plural of characteristic?
The plural of characteristic is characteristics.
What are the comparative and superlative forms of characteristic?
The comparative form is more characteristic and the superlative form is most characteristic.