characteristic

Universal Words adjective, noun adjective ~ (of sth/sb) very typical of sth or of sb's character: She spoke with characteristic enthusiasm. OPPUNCHARACTERISTIC characteristically adverb: Characteristically, Helen paid for everyone. noun ~ (of sth/sb) a typical feature or quality that sth/sb has: The need to communicate is a key characteristic of human society. * The two groups of children have quite different characteristics. * Personal characteristics, such as age, sex and marital status are taken into account. * genetic characteristics