Definitions for characteristic
ˌkær ɪk təˈrɪs tɪkchar·ac·ter·is·tic

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.5 / 21 votes

1. feature, characteristicnoun

   a prominent attribute or aspect of something

   "the map showed roads and other features"; "generosity is one of his best characteristics"

2. characteristicnoun

   a distinguishing quality

3. characteristicnoun

   the integer part (positive or negative) of the representation of a logarithm; in the expression log 643 = 2.808 the characteristic is 2

4. characteristic, device characteristicadjective

   any measurable property of a device measured under closely specified conditions

5. characteristicadjective

   typical or distinctive

   "heard my friend's characteristic laugh"; "red and gold are the characteristic colors of autumn"; "stripes characteristic of the zebra"

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.7 / 7 votes

1. characteristicnoun

   a distinguishable feature of a person or thing

2. characteristicnoun

   the integer part of a logarithm

3. characteristicnoun

   the distinguishing features of a navigational light on a lighthouse etc by which it can be identified (colour, pattern of flashes etc)

4. characteristicnoun

   The minimum number of times that the unit of a field must be added unto itself in order to yield that field's zero, or, if that minimum natural number does not exist, then (the integer) zero.

5. characteristicadjective

   being a distinguishing feature of a person or thing

6. Etymology: From χαρακτηριστικός, from χαρακτηρίζω, from χαρακτήρ.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. characteristic

   A characteristic is a feature, quality, or attribute that is distinctive or identifies something or someone. It can be used to describe both physical traits and personality traits as well as other significant aspects. Characteristics can be used to differentiate, categorize, or describe various things, people, or phenomena.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.4 / 5 votes

1. Characteristicadjective

   pertaining to, or serving to constitute, the character; showing the character, or distinctive qualities or traits, of a person or thing; peculiar; distinctive

2. Characteristicnoun

   a distinguishing trait, quality, or property; an element of character; that which characterized

3. Characteristicnoun

   the integral part (whether positive or negative) of a logarithm

4. Etymology: [Gr. : cf. F. charactristique.]

WikidataRate this definition:3.2 / 6 votes

1. Characteristic

   In mathematics, the characteristic of a ring R, often denoted char, is defined to be the smallest number of times one must use the ring's multiplicative identity element in a sum to get the additive identity element; the ring is said to have characteristic zero if this repeated sum never reaches the additive identity. That is, char is the smallest positive number n such that if such a number n exists, and 0 otherwise. The characteristic may also be taken to be the exponent of the ring's additive group, that is, the smallest positive n such that for every element a of the ring. Some authors do not include the multiplicative identity element in their requirements for a ring, and this definition is suitable for that convention; otherwise the two definitions are equivalent due to the distributive law in rings.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. characteristic

   A specific quality.

   The characteristics were so clear, she was so honest.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on March 4, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Integer
   • Property
   • Quality

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'characteristic' in Nouns Frequency: #904

2. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'characteristic' in Adjectives Frequency: #691

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce characteristic?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say characteristic in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of characteristic in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of characteristic in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of characteristic in a Sentence

1. Chris Stantis:

   The most elite had equids of some sort (potentially donkeys) buried outside the tombs, often in pairs as though ready to pull a chariot. This is both a foreign characteristic of burial style, but also suggestive of someone [with] very high status.

2. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:

   If Paul Gosar was telling the truth, Paul Gosar would have apologized by now, and it's been well over a week, paul Gosar not only has not apologized, Paul Gosar not only has not made any sort of contact or outreach, neither Paul Gosar nor the Republican leader of the party. But Paul Gosar's also doubled down by saying that I am somehow, I'm somehow a representative of undocumented people and that somehow is deserving a characteristic of violence.

3. Benito Mussolini, The Political and Social Doctrine of Fascism, 1935:

   If every age has its own characteristic doctrine, there are a thousand signs which point to Fascism as the characteristic doctrine of our time.

4. Émile Durkheim:

   Man's characteristic privilege is that the bond he accepts is not physical but moral; that is, social. He is governed not by a material environment brutally imposed on him, but by a conscience superior to his own, the superiority of which he feels. Because the greater, better part of his existence transcends the body, he escapes the body's yoke, but is subject to that of society.

5. Joe Lieberman:

   John McCain own attitude, the way John McCain faced death with characteristic fearlessness and perspective, really comforted me, but you know, we're going to miss John McCain. John McCain's irreplaceable.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=characteristic
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Characteristic
3. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
4. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/characteristic
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=characteristic
6. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=characteristic