noun
character
KA-rihk-tuh
noun
1
A person portrayed in a book, film, play, or other story.
"The main character faces a difficult choice in the final act."
"The film introduces a new villain as its central character."
2
The combination of qualities and traits that make up a person's nature, especially their moral strength or honesty.
"Facing hardship revealed his true character."
3
A single letter, digit, or symbol, especially in writing or computing.
"The password must contain at least one special character."
4
A distinctive or unusual person, often amusing or eccentric.
"Her grandfather was a real character, always telling wild stories."
How to Use Character
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishCan mean a person in a story, someone's inner nature and integrity, a single letter or symbol, or an eccentric individual.
Common pairings
strong character
main character
in character
lack of character
Word Forms
charactered past tense, characters plural, characters singular
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The main _____ faces a difficult choice in the final act.
Etymology
From Old French caractere, from Latin character, from Ancient Greek kharaktēr, meaning "an engraved mark" — from kharassō, "to engrave" or "to scratch a mark".