ADJ
- good, excellent, exemplary, impeccable
- generous, gentle, likeable, lovable, popular
- colourful, larger-than-life, lively, real
- You must have come across some real characters, working in the circus
- reformed
- He used to go out every night, but now he's a reformed character
- complex, elusive, enigmatic, odd
- forceful, formidable, strong
- weak
- volatile
- prickly, unpleasant
- bad, evil, ruthless, violent
- dubious, shady, suspicious
- Who's that suspicious character hanging around outside?
- true
- local
- The pub was full of colourful local characters
- human
- moral
- a woman of impeccable moral character
VERB + CHARACTER
- be, have
- form, make up
- reveal
- She revealed her true character when anyone disagreed with her
- conceal, hide
- reflect
- His scruffy appearance does not reflect his character
CHARACTER + NOUN
- trait
- defect
- change
- She's undergone a complete character change since her promotion
- reference
- Applicants were required to obtain character references before being considered for the work
- assassination
- The defence lawyer attempted a character assassination of the witness (= tried to show the witness had a bad character)
- actor, actress
PREP
- in sb's ~
- It's not in his character to tell lies
- out of ~
- The lawyer argued that his client's violent behaviour was out of character
ADJ
- distinctive, individual, unique
- essential, fundamental, intrinsic
- original
- traditional
- The renovated buildings retain their traditional character
- international, national, regional
- Food in Italy has a distinct regional character. the features that make up the national character
- intimate
- public
- the public character of material published on the Internet
- serious
- offences of a serious character
- military, political
- rural, urban
- The development detracts from the rural character of the area
VERB + CHARACTER
- have
- Each house in the street has its own distinctive character
- assume, take on
- As you move north, the landscape takes on a different character
- form, make up
- factors that form the character of a nation
- lose
- The town centre has lost much of its original character
- retain
- preserve
- give sth
- It's the basil that gives the sauce its essential character
PREP
- in ~
- The houses are Mediterranean in character
VERB + CHARACTER
- have
- His face has character?I'll say that for it
- add, give sth
- the individual touches that give character to a house
PREP
- of ~
- buildings of considerable character
PHRASES
- full of character
- The restaurant is cheap and full of character
- have a character of its own/all (of) its own
- Your handwriting has a character of its own
VERB + CHARACTER
- show
- The team showed great character in coming back to win
- build
- Adventure camps are considered to be character-building
ADJ
- central, chief, leading, main, principal
- minor, supporting
- fictional, fictitious
- believable
- sympathetic, unsympathetic
- comic, heroic, tragic
- cartoon
VERB + CHARACTER
- play, portray
- The main character is played by Nicole Kidman
- develop
- the artist who developed the Superman character
- kill off
- The writers killed off her character when she wanted to leave the soap
PREP
- in ~
- The actors remained in character to answer questions from the audience
