characterless C2+ Topic:People & Society US /ˈkɛrəktɚləs/ UK /ˈkærəktələs/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj lacking distinctive qualities or individuality The new offices were clean but utterly characterless. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · lacking distinctive... nondescriptblandordinaryunremarkableinsipidcolorlessdull ↔ Opposites distinctivecharacterfulindividualstriking Word family Related forms charactercharacteristic Etymology AI details From character + -less. Character is from Latin character, from Greek charaktēr ('engraved mark, distinctive quality'), from charassein ('to engrave'). charaktēr Ancient Greek charassein Ancient Greek View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # characterless **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈkɛrəktɚləs/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈkærəktələs/ ## Meanings 1. lacking distinctive qualities or individuality ## Examples - The new offices were clean but utterly characterless. ## Synonyms - nondescript - bland - ordinary - unremarkable - insipid - colorless - dull ## Antonyms - distinctive - characterful - individual - striking ## Related Forms - character - characteristic ## Roots and Affixes - Root: charaktēr - Root: charassein ## Etymology From character + -less. Character is from Latin character, from Greek charaktēr ('engraved mark, distinctive quality'), from charassein ('to engrave'). ## AI Etymology Characterless comes from character + -less. Character is from Latin character, from Greek charaktēr ('engraved mark, distinctive quality'), from charassein ('to engrave'). The historical trail runs through charaktēr in Ancient Greek and charassein in Ancient Greek. Morphologically, characterless is transparent: it draws on character + -less. Used as an adjective, characterless now means "lacking distinctive qualities or individuality", 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 and characteristic. 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 markdown