- character
- noun1 person's nature/person with a particular natureADJECTIVE▪ excellent, exemplary, good, impeccable▪ generous, gentle, likeable, lovable, popular▪ colourful/colorful, larger-than-life, lively, real▪
You must have come across some real characters, working in the circus.
▪ reformed▪He used to go out every night, but now he's a reformed character.
▪ complex, elusive, enigmatic, odd▪ forceful, formidable, strong▪ weak▪ volatile▪ prickly, unpleasant, unsavoury/unsavory▪ bad, evil, ruthless, violent▪ dubious, shady, suspicious▪Who's that suspicious character hanging around outside?
▪ true▪ local▪The bar was full of interesting local characters.
▪ human▪ moral▪a woman of impeccable moral character
VERB + CHARACTER▪ be, have▪ form, shape▪ reveal▪She revealed her true character when anyone disagreed with her.
▪ conceal, hide▪ reflect▪His scruffy appearance does not reflect his character.
CHARACTER + NOUN▪ trait▪ defect, flaw▪ change▪She's undergone a complete character change since her promotion.
▪ reference▪Applicants had to obtain character references before being considered for the work.
▪ assassination▪The lawyer attempted a character assassination of the witness (= tried to show the witness had a bad character).
▪ actor, actressPREPOSITION▪ in sb's character▪It's not in his character to tell lies.
▪ out of character▪The lawyer argued that his client's violent reaction was out of character.
2 nature of sthADJECTIVE▪ distinctive, individual, unique▪ essential, fundamental, intrinsic▪ original▪ traditional▪The renovated buildings retain their traditional character.
▪ international, national, regional▪the features that make up the national character
▪Food in Italy has a distinct regional character.
▪ intimate▪ public▪the public character of material published on the Internet
▪ military, political▪ rural, urban▪The development detracts from the rural character of the area.
VERB + CHARACTER▪ have▪Each house in the street has its own distinctive character.
▪ assume, take on▪As you move north, the landscape takes on a different character.
▪ form▪factors that form the character of a nation
▪ lose▪The town has lost much of its original character.
▪ retain▪ preserve▪ give sth▪It's the basil that gives the sauce its essential character.
PREPOSITION▪ in character▪The houses are Mediterranean in character.
3 interesting quality that sth hasADJECTIVE▪ considerable, greatVERB + CHARACTER▪ have▪His face has character—I'll say that for it.
▪ add, give sth▪the individual touches that give character to a house
PREPOSITION▪ of character▪buildings of considerable character
PHRASES▪ full of character▪The restaurant is cheap and full of character.
▪ have a character (all) of its own▪Your handwriting has a character of its own.
4 person's inner strengthADJECTIVE▪ greatVERB + CHARACTER▪ show▪The team showed great character in coming back to win.
▪ build▪Adventure camps are considered to be character-building.
PHRASES▪ strength of character5 person in a story, film/movie, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ central, chief, lead, leading, main, principal, title▪ minor, supporting▪ fictional, fictitious▪ believable, realistic▪ sympathetic, unsympathetic▪ comic, heroic, tragic▪ animated, cartoonVERB + CHARACTER▪ play, portray▪The main character is played by Nicole Kidman.
▪ inhabit▪The two lead actors inhabit their characters fully.
▪ build, create, develop, invent▪the artist who developed the Superman character
▪ feature▪The film also features the new character Mary Anna Morrison.
▪ depict, draw▪ introduce▪ kill off▪The writers killed off her character when she wanted to leave the soap.
CHARACTER + NOUN▪ developmentPREPOSITION▪ in character▪The actors remained in character to answer questions from the audience.
6 letter/sign in writing/printingADJECTIVE▪ Chinese, etc.▪ ASCII, numeric… OF CHARACTERS▪ set, stringVERB + CHARACTER▪ insert▪ deleteCHARACTER + NOUN▪ set, string
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
