 5 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
character
noun
1: an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play
or film or story); "she is the main character in the
novel" [syn: {fictional character}, {fictitious
character}]
2: a characteristic property that defines the apparent
individual nature of something; "each town has a quality
all its own"; "the radical character of our demands" [syn:
{quality}, {lineament}]
3: the inherent complex of attributes that determine a persons
moral and ethical actions and reactions; "education has
for its object the formation of character"- Herbert
Spencer [syn: {fiber}, {fibre}]
4: an actor's portrayal of someone in a play; "she played the
part of Desdemona" [syn: {role}, {theatrical role}, {part},
{persona}]
5: a person of a specified kind (usually with many
eccentricities); "a real character"; "a strange
character"; "a friendly eccentric"; "the capable type"; "a
mental case" [syn: {eccentric}, {type}, {case}]
6: good repute; "he is a man of character"
7: a formal recommendation by a former employer to a potential
future employer describing the person's qualifications and
dependability; "requests for character references are all
to often answered evasively" [syn: {reference}, {character
reference}]
8: a written symbol that is used to represent speech; "the
Greek alphabet has 24 characters" [syn: {grapheme}, {graphic
symbol}]
verb: engrave or inscribe characters on
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Character \Char"ac*ter\, noun [L., an instrument for marking,
character, Gr. ?, fr. ? to make sharp, to cut into furrows,
to engrave: cf. F. caract['e]re.]
1. A distinctive mark; a letter, figure, or symbol.
It were much to be wished that there were throughout
the world but one sort of character for each letter
to express it to the eye. --Holder.
2. Style of writing or printing; handwriting; the peculiar
form of letters used by a particular person or people; as,
an inscription in the Runic character.
You know the character to be your brother's? --Shak.
3. The peculiar quality, or the sum of qualities, by which a
person or a thing is distinguished from others; the stamp
impressed by nature, education, or habit; that which a
person or thing really is; nature; disposition.
The character or that dominion. --Milton.
Know well each Ancient's proper character;
His fable, subject, scope in every page;
Religion, Country, genius of his Age. --Pope.
A man of . . . thoroughly subservient character.
--Motley.
4. Strength of mind; resolution; independence; individuality;
as, he has a great deal of character.
5. Moral quality; the principles and motives that control the
life; as, a man of character; his character saves him from
suspicion.
6. Quality, position, rank, or capacity; quality or conduct
with respect to a certain office or duty; as, in the
miserable character of a slave; in his character as a
magistrate; her character as a daughter.
7. The estimate, individual or general, put upon a person or
thing; reputation; as, a man's character for truth and
veracity; to give one a bad character.
This subterraneous passage is much mended since
Seneca gave so bad a character of it. --Addison.
8. A written statement as to behavior, competency, etc.,
given to a servant. [Colloq.]
9. A unique or extraordinary individuality; a person
characterized by peculiar or notable traits; a person who
illustrates certain phases of character; as, Randolph was
a character; C[ae]sar is a great historical character.
10. One of the persons of a drama or novel.
Note: ''It would be well if character and reputation were
used distinctively. In truth, character is what a
person is; reputation is what he is supposed to be.
Character is in himself, reputation is in the minds of
others. Character is injured by temptations, and by
wrongdoing; reputation by slanders, and libels.
Character endures throughout defamation in every form,
but perishes when there is a voluntary transgression;
reputation may last through numerous transgressions,
but be destroyed by a single, and even an unfounded,
accusation or aspersion.'' --Abbott.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Character \Char"ac*ter\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Charactered}.]
1. To engrave; to inscribe. [R.]
These trees shall be my books.
And in their barks my thoughts I 'll character.
--Shak.
2. To distinguish by particular marks or traits; to describe;
to characterize. [R.] --Mitford.
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
633 Moby Thesaurus words for "character":
Adamite, Altmann theory, DNA, De Vries theory, Galtonian theory,
Mendelianism, Mendelism, RNA, Roscius, VIP, Verworn theory,
Weismann theory, Weismannism, Wiesner theory, abnormal, accent,
accent mark, acclaim, actor, actress, advocacy, advocating,
advocation, affection, alien, allele, allelomorph, alphabet,
alphabetic character, alphabetize, animus, antagonist, antihero,
aptitude, arbitrary, aroma, arrowhead, assured probity, attribute,
atypical, autolithograph, bad guy, badge, banner, bar, barnstormer,
bastard, bat, be a printmaker, being, bent, bias, big shot,
big-timer, bigwig, binary digit, bird, birth, birthmark, bit,
bit part, blamelessness, blood, body, body-build, brand, breed,
bring to life, bugger, cachet, cameo, cancel, capacity, capitalize,
card, carve, case, cast, cat, catalog, cataloging,
catch a likeness, celebrity, certificate of character, chap,
character actor, character man, character reference,
character sketch, character woman, characteristic, characteristics,
characterization, characterize, chart, chief, child actor, chisel,
chromatid, chromatin, chromosome, cipher, clan, cleanness,
clothing, color, complexion, composition, condition, configuration,
constituents, constitution, courage, cove, crackpot, crank, crasis,
crease, creature, credential, cribble, crosshatch, cue, cuneiform,
customer, custos, cut, decency, delineate, delineation,
demotic character, denomination, depict, depiction, describe,
description, designation, details, determinant, determinative,
determiner, device, dharma, diagram, diathesis, differentia,
differential, digit, dignitary, direct, diseur, diseuse,
disposition, distinction, distinctive feature, dot, dramatizer,
draw, duck, duty, earmark, earthling, eccentric, eccentricity,
eclat, emblem, eminence, enchase, endowment, engrave, erectness,
erratic, estimableness, ethos, eugenics, evocation, evoke,
expected, express, expression mark, factor, fairness, fame,
famousness, fanatic, fat part, feather, feature, feeder, feller,
fellow, fermata, fiber, figure, fitting, flake, flavor, foil,
footing, form, frame, freak, function, furrow, gene, genesiology,
genetic code, genetics, genius, genre, genus, give words to, glory,
good character, goodness, grain, grammalogue, graph, grapheme,
graphic account, grave, groove, groundling, gust, guy, habit,
hallmark, hand, hatch, head, heavy, hereditability, heredity,
heritability, heritage, hermit, hero, heroine, hieratic symbol,
hieroglyph, hieroglyphic, hieroglyphics, high ideals,
high principles, high-mindedness, hiragana, histrio, histrion,
hit off, hobo, hold, homo, honesty, honor, honorableness, hue,
human, human being, humor, humors, ideogram, ideograph, idiocrasy,
idiosyncrasy, ilk, image, imagery, immaculacy, impress, impression,
in character, in keeping, inborn capacity, incise, inclination,
index, indicant, indicator, individual, individualism,
individuality, ingenue, inheritability, inheritance, initial,
inscribe, insignia, integrity, intellect, intelligence,
irreproachability, irreproachableness, itemization, jasper, job,
joker, justice, justness, juvenile, kana, katakana, key signature,
keynote, kidney, kin, kind, kook, kudos, label, lad, lead,
lead role, leading lady, leading man, leading woman, leaning,
letter, letter of introduction, lexigraphic character, life,
ligature, limn, limning, line, lineaments, lines, lithograph,
living soul, logogram, logograph, lone wolf, loner, loony, lot,
make, make prints, makeup, man, manner, mannerism, map, mark,
marking, matinee idol, matrocliny, maverick, measure, mental set,
meshuggenah, metronomic mark, mettle, mime, mimer, mimic, mind,
mind-set, mold, monogram, monologist, moral excellence,
moral strength, morality, mortal, mummer, nabob, name, natural,
nature, nobility, nonconformist, normal, nose, notability, notate,
notation, note, notoriety, notoriousness, number, numeral, numero,
nut, odd fellow, oddball, oddity, odor, office, ogham, one,
original, out of character, outline, outsider, paint, pantomime,
pantomimist, pariah, part, particularity, particularization, party,
patrocliny, patronage, pause, peculiar, peculiarity, person,
personage, personality, persuasion, pharmacogenetics, phonetic,
phonetic character, phonetic symbol, photograph, phylum, physique,
pictogram, pictograph, pictographic character, picture, picturize,
piece, place, playactor, player, point, popularity, portrait,
portraiture, portray, portrayal, position, predilection,
predisposition, preference, presa, principles, print, probity,
proclivity, profile, propensity, proper, property, protagonist,
protean actor, province, publicity, pureness, purity, quality,
queer duck, queer fish, queer specimen, quirk, quiz, race, radical,
rank, rara avis, recessive character, reciter, reclame, recluse,
recognition, recommend, recommendation, rectitude, reference,
register, relation, render, rendering, rendition, renown,
replication, report, represent, representation, representative,
reputability, reputation, repute, resolution, respectability,
righteousness, role, rub, rune, savor, schematize, score, scrape,
scratch, screwball, sculpture, seal, segno, set, set forth, shape,
shorthand, side, sigil, sign, signal, signature, single,
singularity, situation, sketch, slant, slur, smack, solitary,
somatotype, somebody, someone, sort, soubrette, soul, specialty,
species, specification, spirit, spook, stage performer,
stage player, stainlessness, stamp, standing, state, station,
status, stipple, stooge, straight man, straight part, strain,
strange duck, streak, stripe, stroller, strolling player, stud,
style, suchness, suitable, supporting character, supporting role,
sure sign, swell, syllabic, symbol, symbolize, symptom, system,
taint, take a rubbing, tang, taste, telltale sign, tellurian,
temper, temperament, tempo mark, tendency, tenor, terran,
testimonial, the bubble reputation, the like of, the likes of,
theatrical, thespian, tie, time signature, title role, token, tone,
tool, trace, trace out, trace over, trait, tramp, transcribe,
transliterate, tribe, trick, trouper, turn, turn of mind, twist,
type, typical, uncharacteristic, unexpected, unfitting,
unimpeachability, unimpeachableness, uniqueness, unspottedness,
untypical, uprightness, upstandingness, utility man, variety, vein,
vignette, villain, vinculum, virtue, virtuousness,
vivid description, vogue, voucher, walk-on, walking part, warp,
way, wedge, weirdo, word letter, word painting, worldling,
worthiness, write, writing, written character, zealot, zombie
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
character
An {atom} in a {character repertoire}.
Compare with {glyph}.
(1998-10-18)
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