characters
plural of “character” — an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
An inflected form of character · plural.
How often you will meet it
Rank 2,798 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 5,922 times across 175,112 chapters — 0.003% of every word in the library.
What it means
noun
- an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story) also: fictional character, fictitious character she is the main character in the novel
- a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something also: quality, lineament each town has a quality all its ownthe radical character of our demands
- the inherent complex of attributes that determines a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions also: fiber, fibre education has for its object the formation of character
- an actor's portrayal of someone in a play also: role, theatrical role, part, persona she played the part of Desdemona
- a person of a specified kind (usually with many eccentricities) also: eccentric, type, case a real charactera strange character
- good repute he is a man of character
characters in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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By degrees I got some unconscious knowledge of the characters of Shakespeare.
The Adventures of Harry Richmond — Complete · George Meredith · Chapter 1
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The characters of the three boys were revealed plainly enough by their simple furnishings.
The Hill: A Romance of Friendship · Horace Annesley Vachell · Chapter 1
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Try every child in every child's part before you make your final selection of the cast of characters.
The White Christmas and other Merry · Walter Ben Hare · Chapter 1
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I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects.
The Picture of Dorian Gray · Oscar Wilde · Chapter 1
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She had an idea that she resembled Balzac, and her favourite historical characters were Lucien de Rubempré and the Vidame de Pamiers.
Greville Fane · Henry James · Chapter 1