(characters)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
The character of a person or place consists of all the qualities they have that make them distinct from other people or places.
Perhaps there is a negative side to his character that you haven't seen yet...
The character of this country has been formed by immigration.
= nature
N-COUNT: usu with supp
2.
If something has a particular character, it has a particular quality.
The financial concessions granted to British Aerospace were, he said, of a precarious character...
The state farms were semi-military in character.
= nature
N-SING: usu supp N, also in N
3.
You can use character to refer to the qualities that people from a particular place are believed to have.
Individuality is a valued and inherent part of the British character.
N-SING: supp N
4.
You use character to say what kind of person someone is. For example, if you say that someone is a strange character, you mean they are strange.
It's that kind of courage and determination that makes him such a remarkable character...
What a sad character that Nigel is.
N-COUNT: usu adj N
5.
Your character is your personality, especially how reliable and honest you are. If someone is of good character, they are reliable and honest. If they are of bad character, they are unreliable and dishonest.
He's begun a series of personal attacks on my character...
Mr Bartman was a man of good character.
N-VAR: usu supp N
6.
If you say that someone has character, you mean that they have the ability to deal effectively with difficult, unpleasant, or dangerous situations.
She showed real character in her attempts to win over the crowd...
I didn't know Ron had that much strength of character.
N-UNCOUNT [approval]
7.
If you say that a place has character, you mean that it has an interesting or unusual quality which makes you notice it and like it.
An ugly shopping centre stands across from one of the few buildings with character.
N-UNCOUNT [approval]
8.
The characters in a film, book, or play are the people that it is about.
The film is autobiographical and the central character is played by Collard himself...
He's made the characters believable.
N-COUNT
9.
If you say that someone is a character, you mean that they are interesting, unusual, or amusing. (INFORMAL)
He'll be sadly missed. He was a real character.
N-COUNT
10.
A character is a letter, number, or other symbol that is written or printed.
N-COUNT
11.
If someone's actions are in character, they are doing what you would expect them to do, knowing what kind of person they are. If their actions are out of character, they are not doing what you would expect them to do.
It was entirely in character for Rachel to put her baby first...
What else could make him behave so out of character?
PHRASE: usu v-link PHR