I. char ‧ ac ‧ ter ‧ is ‧ tic 1 S3 W2 /ˌkærəktəˈrɪstɪk◂, ˌkærɪktəˈrɪstɪk◂/ BrE AmE noun [countable usually plural]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ character , ↑ characteristic , ↑ characterization ; adjective : ↑ characteristic ≠ ↑ uncharacteristic , ↑ characterless ; verb : ↑ characterize ; adverb : ↑ characteristically ≠ ↑ uncharacteristically ]
a quality or feature of something or someone that is typical of them and easy to recognize
characteristic of
a baby discovering the physical characteristics of objects
defining/distinguishing characteristic (=one that separates someone or something from others of the same type)
Violent images are a defining characteristic of his work.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a physical characteristic
physical characteristics such as your height and weight
▪ a personal characteristic (=relating to someone’s character)
What are the personal characteristics that a leader requires?
▪ a human characteristic
The power of speech is an entirely human characteristic.
▪ a national characteristic (=typical of the people of a country)
Organization is often seen as a German national characteristic.
▪ the main characteristic of something
A new interest in art was one of the main characteristics of this period.
▪ a common characteristic (=that people or things share)
Successful firms tend to have common characteristics.
▪ a distinguishing/distinctive characteristic (=separating someone or something from others of the same type)
The blue feathers are the distinguishing characteristic of the male bird.
▪ a defining characteristic (=one that is necessary in order to be a particular type of person or thing)
Originality is one of the defining characteristics of a great band.
▪ an important/essential characteristic
An essential characteristic of good teaching is that it must create interest in the learner.
▪ an inherited characteristic
Intelligence is an inherited characteristic.
▪ a striking characteristic
Its canals are one of Amsterdam’s most striking characteristics.
■ verbs
▪ have a characteristic ( also possess a characteristic formal )
He has all the characteristics of a great husband.
▪ show a characteristic ( also exhibit a characteristic formal )
A material may exhibit the characteristics of both a liquid and a solid.
▪ share a characteristic
The group shared one characteristic - they were all under 25.
▪ inherit a characteristic (=get a characterstic from your parent)
We all inherit physical characteristics from our parents.
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THESAURUS
▪ characteristic something that is typical of someone or something and makes them easy to recognize:
He had several characteristics which made him different to the rest of his family.
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the physical characteristics of the brain
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He studied the special characteristics of adult speech addressed to children.
▪ quality a characteristic of a person, especially a good one such as kindness or intelligence:
Tina has a lot of good qualities.
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I’m not sure about his leadership qualities.
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Obedience is a quality that my father admires.
▪ feature an important or interesting characteristic of something:
it seems to be a feature of modern society that we tend to judge ourselves by our work above everything else.
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A curious feature of the novel is the absence of women.
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The building still has many of its original features.
▪ property [usually plural] technical a characteristic of a substance or object, for example hardness or elasticity, or how it behaves - used especially in scientific contexts:
We examined the physical properties of various metals.
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changes in the electrical properties of cells
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Some plants have healing properties.
▪ attribute formal a good or useful characteristic:
I suspected I probably did not quite possess all the attributes required to succeed at the highest level.
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All living things are able to reproduce their kind, an attribute which no machine possesses..
▪ good/bad points good or bad characteristics – used when someone or something has both good and bad characteristics:
The seller will obviously emphasize the car’s good points.
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Draw up a list of your partner’s good and bad points.
II. characteristic 2 BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ character , ↑ characteristic , ↑ characterization ; adjective : ↑ characteristic ≠ ↑ uncharacteristic , ↑ characterless ; verb : ↑ characterize ; adverb : ↑ characteristically ≠ ↑ uncharacteristically ]
very typical of a particular thing or of someone’s character:
the highly characteristic (=very typical) flint walls of the local houses
characteristic of
the qualities that were characteristic of the Nixon administration
—characteristically /-kli/ adverb
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REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say typical rather than characteristic :
▪
The building is typical of those in the area.
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THESAURUS
▪ typical a typical person or thing is a good example of that type of person or thing:
With his camera around his neck, he looked like a typical tourist.
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The windows are typical of houses built during this period.
▪ classic used to describe a very typical and very good example of something:
It was a classic case of the cure being worse than the disease.
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a classic mistake
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The book is a classic example of great teamwork.
▪ archetypal the archetypal person or thing is the most typical example of that kind of person or thing, and has all their most important qualities:
the archetypal English village
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Indiana Jones is the archetypal adventure hero.
▪ quintessential used when you want to emphasize that someone or something is the very best example of something – used especially when you admire them very much:
the quintessential guide to New York
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Robert Plant is the quintessential rock ‘n’ roll singer.
▪ stereotypical having the characteristics that many people believe a particular type of person or thing has – used when you think these beliefs are not true:
Hollywood films are full of stereotypical images of women as wives and mothers.
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He challenges stereotypical ideas about people with disabilities.
▪ representative containing the most common types of people or things that are found in something, and showing what it is usually like:
a representative sample of college students
▪ characteristic very typical of a particular type of thing, or of someone’s character or usual behaviour:
Each species of bird has its own characteristic song.
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What gives Paris its characteristic charm?
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He played with his characteristic skill.
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the characteristic symptoms of the disease
▪ be the epitome of something to be the best possible example of a particular type of person or thing or of a particular quality:
His house was thought to be the epitome of good taste.