characteristically

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˌkɛrəktəˈrɪstɪkli/ UK /ˌkærəktəˈrɪstɪkli/ See IPA manual

adv

Meanings

1

adv
in a way typical of a person or thing

He responded, characteristically, with a dry joke.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in a way typical of a... typically usually normally habitually distinctively

Opposites

uncharacteristically atypically unusually

Word family

Related forms character characteristic characterize

Etymology

From characteristic + -ally, from Greek charaktēristikos, from charaktēr ('engraved mark, distinctive stamp'), from charassein ('to engrave, scratch').

charaktēristikos Ancient Greek charaktēr Ancient Greek charassein Ancient Greek

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Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

# characteristically

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** ˌkɛrəktəˈrɪstɪkli
**IPA (UK):** ˌkærəktəˈrɪstɪkli

## Meanings
1. in a way typical of a person or thing

## Examples
- He responded, characteristically, with a dry joke.

## Synonyms
- typically
- usually
- normally
- habitually
- distinctively

## Antonyms
- uncharacteristically
- atypically
- unusually

## Related Forms
- character
- characteristic
- characterize

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: charaktēristikos
- Root: charaktēr
- Root: charassein

## Etymology
From characteristic + -ally, from Greek charaktēristikos, from charaktēr ('engraved mark, distinctive stamp'), from charassein ('to engrave, scratch').

## AI Etymology
Characteristically comes from characteristic + -ally, from Greek charaktēristikos, from charaktēr ('engraved mark, distinctive stamp'), from charassein ('to engrave, scratch'). The historical trail runs through charaktēristikos in Ancient Greek, charaktēr in Ancient Greek, and charassein in Ancient Greek. Morphologically, characteristically is transparent: it draws on characteristic + -ally, from Greek charaktēristikos, from charaktēr ('engraved mark, distinctive stamp'), from charassein ('to engrave, scratch'). Used as an adverb, characteristically now means "in a way typical of a person or thing", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as character, characteristic, and characterize. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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