n.

1. an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story);
   fictional character, fictitious character
   
   • she is the main character in the novel
2. a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something;
   quality, lineament
   
   • each town has a quality all its own
   • the radical character of our demands
3. the inherent complex of attributes that determine a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions; "education has for its object the formation of character"- Herbert Spencer;
   fiber, fibre
4. an actor's portrayal of someone in a play;
   role, theatrical role, part, persona
   
   • she played the part of Desdemona
5. a person of a specified kind (usually with many eccentricities);
   eccentric, type, case
   
   • a real character
   • a strange character
   • a friendly eccentric
   • the capable type
   • a mental case
6. good repute
   
   • he is a man of character
7. a formal recommendation by a former employer to a potential future employer describing the person's qualifications and dependability;
   reference, character reference
   
   • requests for character references are all to often answered evasively
8. a written symbol that is used to represent speech;
   grapheme, graphic symbol
   
   • the Greek alphabet has 24 characters
9. (genetics) an attribute (structural or functional) that is determined by a gene or group of genes

v.

1. engrave or inscribe characters on