Definitions for: Character


[n] 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
[n] 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"
[n] an actor's portrayal of someone in a play; "she played the part of Desdemona"
[n] 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"
[n] a written symbol that is used to represent speech; "the Greek alphabet has 24 characters"
[n]
[n] 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"
[n] good repute; "he is a man of character"
[v] engrave or inscribe characters on



Webster (1913) Definition: Char"ac*ter, n. [L., an instrument for marking,
character, Gr. ?, fr. ? to make sharp, to cut into furrows,
to engrave: cf. F. caract[`e]re.]
1. A distinctive mark; a letter, figure, or symbol.

It were much to be wished that there were throughout
the world but one sort of character for each letter
to express it to the eye. --Holder.

2. Style of writing or printing; handwriting; the peculiar
form of letters used by a particular person or people; as,
an inscription in the Runic character.

You know the character to be your brother's? --Shak.

3. The peculiar quality, or the sum of qualities, by which a
person or a thing is distinguished from others; the stamp
impressed by nature, education, or habit; that which a
person or thing really is; nature; disposition.

The character or that dominion. --Milton.

Know well each Ancient's proper character; His
fable, subject, scope in every page; Religion,
Country, genius of his Age. --Pope.

A man of . . . thoroughly subservient character.
--Motley.

4. Strength of mind; resolution; independence; individuality;
as, he has a great deal of character.

5. Moral quality; the principles and motives that control the
life; as, a man of character; his character saves him from
suspicion.

6. Quality, position, rank, or capacity; quality or conduct
with respect to a certain office or duty; as, in the
miserable character of a slave; in his character as a
magistrate; her character as a daughter.

7. The estimate, individual or general, put upon a person or
thing; reputation; as, a man's character for truth and
veracity; to give one a bad character.

This subterraneous passage is much mended since
Seneca gave so bad a character of it. --Addison.

8. A written statement as to behavior, competency, etc.,
given to a servant. [Colloq.]

9. A unique or extraordinary individuality; a person
characterized by peculiar or notable traits; a person who
illustrates certain phases of character; as, Randolph was
a character; C[ae]sar is a great historical character.

10. One of the persons of a drama or novel.

Note: ``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.'' --Abbott.


Char"ac*ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charactered.]
1. To engrave; to inscribe. [R.]

These trees shall be my books. And in their barks my
thoughts I 'll character. --Shak.

2. To distinguish by particular marks or traits; to describe;
to characterize. [R.] --Mitford.

Synonyms: case, character reference, eccentric, fiber, fibre, fictional character, fictitious character, grapheme, graphic symbol, lineament, part, persona, quality, reference, role, theatrical role, type

See Also: adult, Aladdin, allograph, alphabetic character, Argonaut, ASCII character, asterisk, attribute, Babar, baddie, Beatrice, Beowulf, bit part, blank, Bluebeard, Bond, Bunyan, capital, Captain Horatio Hornblower, characterization, Cheshire cat, Chicken Little, Cinderella, Colonel Blimp, Commissaire Maigret, dagger, dieses, dimension, Don Quixote, double dagger, double obelisk, Dracula, El Cid, enactment, engrave, Fagin, Falstaff, Father Brown, Faust, Faustus, Frankenstein, Frankenstein's monster, good word, Goofy, grave, grownup, Gulliver, Hamlet, heavy, hero, heroine, Holmes, Horatio Hornblower, Huck Finn, Huckleberry Finn, Iago, ideogram, ideograph, imaginary being, imaginary creature, inferior, ingenue, inscribe, Inspector Maigret, integrity, James Bond, John Henry, Kilroy, King Lear, Lear, letter, letter of the alphabet, ligature, Lilliputian, lower case, lower-case letter, Marlowe, mathematical symbol, Micawber, minor role, Mother Goose, Mr. Moto, name part, obelisk, Othello, Pangloss, Pantaloon, Paul Bunyan, percent sign, percentage sign, Perry Mason, personality, personation, Peter Pan, Philip Marlowe, phonetic symbol, pictograph, Pierrot, Pluto, portrayal, printed symbol, property, radical, recommendation, reputation, repute, responsibility, responsibleness, rune, runic letter, Sherlock Holmes, Simon Legree, Sinbad, Sinbad the Sailor, Sir John Falstaff, small letter, Snoopy, space, spirit, star, subscript, superior, superscript, Tarzan, Tarzan of the Apes, testimonial, texture, thoughtfulness, title role, Tom Sawyer, trait, type, Uncle Sam, Uncle Tom, upper case, upper-case letter, villain, Wilkins Micawber, written symbol

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