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Definition of characteristic adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

characteristic

adjective
 
/ˌkærəktəˈrɪstɪk/
 
/ˌkærəktəˈrɪstɪk/
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  1. very typical of something or of somebody’s character
    • characteristic of something/somebody Community support of families is characteristic of many societies.
    • This is just one example of the rudeness that was so characteristic of him.
    • the characteristic features of his style of painting
    • She spoke with characteristic enthusiasm.
    opposite uncharacteristic
    Extra Examples
    • a problem that was fairly characteristic of late eighteenth-century society
    • his highly characteristic features
    • They suffer from many of the environmental problems that are characteristic of inner-city areas.
    • With characteristic modesty she insisted on sharing the credit with the whole team.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • become
    adverb
    • highly
    • very
    • entirely
    preposition
    • of
    See full entry
    Word Originmid 17th cent.: from French caractéristique or medieval Latin characteristicus, from Greek kharaktēristikos, from kharaktēr ‘a stamping tool’.
See characteristic in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee characteristic in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
previously
adverb
 
 
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