CHARACTER


Meaning of CHARACTER in English

/ ˈkærəktə(r); NAmE / noun

QUALITIES / FEATURES

1.

[ C , usually sing. ] all the qualities and features that make a person, groups of people, and places different from others :

to have a strong / weak character

character traits / defects

The book gives a fascinating insight into Mrs Blair's character.

Generosity is part of the American character.

The character of the neighbourhood hasn't changed at all.

2.

[ C , usually sing. , U ] the way that sth is, or a particular quality or feature that a thing, an event or a place has

SYN nature :

the delicate character of the light in the evening

buildings that are very simple in character

3.

[ U ] ( approving ) strong personal qualities such as the ability to deal with difficult or dangerous situations :

Everyone admires her strength of character and determination.

He showed great character returning to the sport after his accident.

Adventure camps are considered to be character-building (= meant to improve sb's strong qualities) .

4.

[ U ] (usually approving ) the interesting or unusual quality that a place or a person has :

The modern hotels here have no real character.

a face with a lot of character

STRANGE / INTERESTING PERSON

5.

[ C ] ( informal ) (used with an adjective) a person, particularly an unpleasant or strange one :

There were some really strange characters hanging around the bar.

6.

[ C ] ( informal ) an interesting or unusual person :

She's a character!

REPUTATION

7.

[ C , U ] ( formal ) the opinion that people have of you, particularly of whether you can be trusted or relied on :

She was a victim of character assassination (= an unfair attack on the good opinion people had of her) .

a slur / attack on his character

My teacher agreed to be a character witness for me in court.

a character reference (= a letter that a person who knows you well writes to an employer to tell them about your good qualities)

IN BOOK / PLAY / MOVIE

8.

[ C ] a person or an animal in a book, play or film / movie :

a major / minor character in the book

cartoon characters

SYMBOL / LETTER

9.

[ C ] a letter, sign, mark or symbol used in writing, printing or on computers :

Chinese characters

a line 30 characters long

IDIOMS

- in character | out of character

- in character (with sth)

••

WORD ORIGIN

Middle English : from Old French caractere , via Latin from Greek kharaktēr a stamping tool. From the early sense distinctive mark arose token, feature, or trait (early 16th cent.), and from this a description, especially of a person's qualities , giving rise to distinguishing qualities .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.