character
A person in a story, play, movie, or game.
Character has several important meanings:
- The qualities that make someone who they really are. Your character includes things like whether you're honest, kind, brave, or hardworking. People often show their character by keeping promises even when it's hard, standing up for what they believe is right even when friends disagree, and taking responsibility for mistakes instead of making excuses.
- A person in a story, play, or movie. Harry Potter, Katniss Everdeen, and Luke Skywalker are all fictional characters. The main character drives the story forward, while supporting characters help tell the tale. Writers develop their characters by giving them personalities, problems, and goals that make them feel real to readers.
- An interesting or unusual person. When someone says “He's quite a character,” they usually mean that person is memorable, quirky, or does things differently from most people. Your eccentric uncle who collects vintage typewriters and tells wild stories might be called a real character.
- A letter, number, or symbol used in writing. Each letter in this sentence is a character. When you count characters in a text message or post, you're counting every letter, space, and punctuation mark.