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Characteristic vs Relevant - What's the difference?

characteristic | relevant |

As adjectives the difference between characteristic and relevant

is that characteristic is being a distinguishing feature of a person or thing while relevant is directly related, connected, or pertinent to a topic.

As a noun characteristic

is a distinguishable feature of a person or thing.

characteristic

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Being a distinguishing feature of a person or thing.
  • * , chapter=12
  • , title= 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 * typical

    Antonyms

    * uncharacteristic * untypical

    Derived terms

    * characteristic function * characteristicness

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • 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.
  • A field's characteristic, if non-zero, must be a prime number.

    Synonyms

    * attribute * idiosyncrasy * mannerism * quality * tendency * trademark * trait * See also

    Derived terms

    * defining characteristic

    See also

    * mantissa

    relevant

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Directly related, connected, or pertinent to a topic.
  • His mother provided some relevant background information concerning his medical condition.
  • Not out of date; current.
  • * {{quote-news, year=1973, date=December 20, title=Hansen says Christmas time for thanks, hope, work=The Aberdeen Times citation
  • , passage=The message of Christmas is still relevant as we near the end of a troubled year and the beginning of an uncertain but challenging new year.}}
  • * {{quote-book, year=2008, author=Scott Cooper, Fritz Grutzner, Birk Cooper, title=Tips and Traps for Marketing Your Business, publisher=McGraw-Hill, isbn=978-0071494892 citation
  • , passage=Motorola was quickly losing the cell-phone battle to Nokia for a time. When they launched the RAZR phone and combined it with their "Hello Moto" campaign, it made the brand relevant again.}}

    Synonyms

    * applicable * germane * in point (legal) * pertinent * salient * significant

    Antonyms

    *

    Derived terms

    * safety-relevant

    Anagrams

    * ----