characteristic
C1Formal to neutral
Definition
Meaning
A distinguishing feature or quality of a person, place, or thing; a trait that helps identify something.
Also used as an adjective to describe something that is typical or representative of a particular person, place, or thing.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The word emphasizes typicality and distinctiveness. As a noun, it refers to an individual attribute. As an adjective, it describes something that is a typical representation of an entity.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage is almost identical. Minor differences exist in typical collocates and frequency in certain registers (e.g., slightly more common in British technical/scientific writing). No spelling variation.
Connotations
Neutral in both. Slightly more formal than 'feature' or 'trait'.
Frequency
Very common in both varieties. COCA and BNC both place it in the top 3000-5000 words.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
characteristic of [someone/something]a characteristic [that/which] + clausehave/exhibit/display/share a characteristicbe characteristic for (less common)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “(be) characteristic of the breed/type”
- “in characteristic fashion/manner/style”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used to describe market behaviour or consumer traits (e.g., 'characteristic buying patterns').
Academic
Frequent in sciences and humanities to describe defining properties of phenomena, species, or ideas.
Everyday
Used to describe personal traits or typical behaviours of people/things.
Technical
Essential in mathematics (characteristic equation), engineering (performance characteristics), and biology (species characteristics).
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The process is used to characterise the material's properties.
- The report characterised the behaviour as reckless.
American English
- The process is used to characterize the material's properties.
- The report characterized the behavior as reckless.
adverb
British English
- She smiled characteristically, with just one corner of her mouth turning up.
American English
- He characteristically arrived ten minutes early for the meeting.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- One characteristic of mammals is that they have hair or fur.
- It's characteristic of this city to have rainy springs.
- Honesty is a good characteristic.
- The defining characteristic of this artist's work is its use of bold colour.
- Such hesitation is not characteristic of her; she's usually very decisive.
- The engine's performance characteristics were detailed in the report.
- The study aimed to isolate the genetic characteristics responsible for the trait.
- His response, characteristically, was both insightful and meticulously detailed.
- A characteristic feature of Baroque architecture is its dramatic use of light and shadow.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'CHARACTER' inside the word. A 'characteristic' is something that helps define the character of someone or something.
Conceptual Metaphor
PROPERTIES ARE POSSESSIONS (e.g., 'The species has these characteristics.'), TYPICALITY IS A SIGNATURE (e.g., 'It's characteristic of him.').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'характер' (character/personality). The noun is closer to 'черта', 'особенность', 'характеристика' (as a list of features). The adjective is 'характерный'.
- Avoid false friends: 'characteristic' is not a performance review (that's 'характеристика' as a reference letter).
Common Mistakes
- Mispronunciation: stressing the first syllable (*'CHARacteristic'). Correct: stress on 'ris' (/ˌkærəktəˈrɪstɪk/).
- Using 'characteristic' as a countable noun without an article (e.g., 'It is characteristic of him' is correct, but 'He has characteristic of kindness' is wrong; must be 'He has *the* characteristic of kindness').
Practice
Quiz
Which sentence uses 'characteristic' as an adjective?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is neutral. The positive or negative meaning depends on the specific trait being described (e.g., 'a characteristic kindness' vs. 'a characteristic stubbornness').
'Characteristic' is slightly more formal and often implies a typical, distinguishing quality. 'Trait' is most common for innate personal qualities. 'Feature' is broader and more neutral, often used for visible or notable parts of something.
The primary stress is on the 'ris' syllable: /-ˈrɪs-/. The word has five syllables with a secondary stress on the first: 'kar-ik-tuh-RIS-tik'. Avoid stressing 'CHAR-'.
No, the word itself is a noun and adjective. The related verb is 'characterize' (US) / 'characterise' (UK), meaning to describe the character of or be typical of.