Behavior vs Characteristic - What's the difference?
behavior | characteristic |
(uncountable) Human conduct relative to social norms.
(uncountable) The way a living creature behaves or acts generally.
(uncountable, informal) A state of probation about one's conduct.
(countable) An instance of the way a living creature behaves.
(countable, uncountable, biology, psychology) Observable response produced by an organism.
(uncountable) The way a device or system operates.
Being a distinguishing feature of a person or thing.
* , chapter=12
, title= a distinguishable feature of a person or thing
(mathematics) the integer part of a logarithm
(nautical) the distinguishing features of a navigational light on a lighthouse etc by which it can be identified (colour, pattern of flashes etc)
(algebra, field theory) The minimum number of times that the unit of a field must be added unto itself in order to yield that field's zero, or, if that minimum natural number does not exist, then (the integer) zero.
As nouns the difference between behavior and characteristic
is that behavior is human conduct relative to social norms while characteristic is a distinguishable feature of a person or thing.As an adjective characteristic is
being a distinguishing feature of a person or thing.behavior
English
Alternative forms
* behaviour (everywhere except US) * (l), (l), (l), (l)Noun
(en-noun)- He was on his best behavior when her family visited.
Usage notes
* Adjectives often applied to "behavior": human, animal, physical, chemical, mechanical, electrical, organizational, corporate, social, collective, parental, interpersonal, sexual, criminal, appropriate, inappropriate, correct, incorrect, right, wrong, good, bad, acceptable, unacceptable, poor, ethical, unethical, moral, immoral, responsible, irresponsible, normal, odd, deviant, abnormal, violent, abusive, aggressive, offensive, defensive, rude, stupid, undesirable, verbal, nonverbal, learned, professional, unprofessional, adaptive, compulsive, questionable, assertive, disgusting, self-destructive.External links
* * English words prefixed with be-characteristic
English
(wikipedia characteristic)Adjective
(en adjective)The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=All this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill. It was ugly, gross. Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. In the present connexion […] such talk had been distressingly out of place.}}
Synonyms
* distinctive * exclusive * idiosyncratic * indicative * representative * signature * specific * typicalAntonyms
* uncharacteristic * untypicalDerived terms
* characteristic function * characteristicnessNoun
(en noun)- A field's characteristic, if non-zero, must be a prime number.