Standard Lemma guide

uncharacteristic

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • CMU ARPABET: AH2 N K EH2 R IH0 K T ER0 IH1 S T IH0 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not characteristic.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Out of character; behavior that is unusual for a given person or thing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective

Meaning 3

distinctive and not typical

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a book uncharacteristic of its author

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: characteristic

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- Ancient Greek χαράσσω (kharássō) Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Ancient Greek -τήρ (-tḗr) Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr) Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ίζω (-ízō) Ancient Greek χαρακτηρίζω (kharaktērízō) Proto-Indo-European *-tis Ancient Greek -τις (-tis) Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τος (-tos) ▲ Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Ancient Greek -τικός (-tikós) Ancient Greek χᾰρᾰκτηριστῐκός (khărăktēristĭkós)der. English characteristic English uncharacteristic From un- + characteristic.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: нехарактерен (neharakteren) — not characteristic
  • Danish: ukarakteristisk — not characteristic
  • Danish: ukarakteristisk — behavior that is unusual for a given person or thing
Real reading context

uncharacteristic in complete knowledge articles