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Shape vs Character - What's the difference?

shape | character |

As nouns the difference between shape and character

is that shape is the status or condition of something while character is .

As a verb shape

is to give something a shape and definition.

shape

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • The status or condition of something
    • The used bookshop wouldn't offer much due to the poor shape of the book.
  • Condition of personal health, especially muscular health.
    • The vet checked to see what kind of shape the animal was in.
    We exercise to keep in good physical shape .
  • The appearance of something, especially its outline.
    • He cut a square shape out of the cake.
  • A figure with unspecified appearance; especially a geometric figure.
    • What shape shall we use for the cookies? Stars, circles, or diamonds?
  • Form; formation.
  • * 2006 , Berdj Kenadjian, Martin Zakarian, From Darkness to Light :
    • What if God's plans and actions do mold the shape of human events?
  • (iron manufacture) A rolled or hammered piece, such as a bar, beam, angle iron, etc., having a cross section different from merchant bar.
  • (iron manufacture) A piece which has been roughly forged nearly to the form it will receive when completely forged or fitted.
  • A mould for making jelly, blancmange etc., or a piece of such food formed moulded into a particular shape.
  • *1918 , (Rebecca West), The Return of the Soldier , Virago 2014, p. 74:
  • *:‘And if I'm late for supper there's a dish of macaroni cheese you must put in the oven and a tin of tomatoes to eat with it. And there's a little rhubarb and shape .’

    • Hyponyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * contest shape * * in no shape to * * in shape * out of shape * shapeless * shapely * shapesmith * shape-shifter * shape-shifting * shipshape * take shape * the shape of things to come * whip into shape

    See also

    *

    Verb

  • To give something a shape and definition.
  • * 1932 , The American Scholar , page 227, United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa
    • The professor never pretended to the academic prerogative of forcing his students into his own channels of reasoning; he entered into and helped shape the discussion but above all he made his men learn to think for themselves and rely upon their own intellectual judgments.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Revenge of the nerds , passage=Think of banking today and the image is of grey-suited men in towering skyscrapers. Its future, however, is being shaped in converted warehouses and funky offices in San Francisco, New York and London, where bright young things in jeans and T-shirts huddle around laptops, sipping lattes or munching on free food.}}
  • To form or manipulate something into a certain shape.
  • * Prior
    • Grace shaped her limbs, and beauty decked her face.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2010, date=December 29, author=Mark Vesty, work=BBC
    • , title= Wigan 2-2 Arsenal , passage=Bendtner's goal-bound shot was well saved by goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi but fell to Arsahvin on the edge of the area and the Russian swivelled, shaped his body and angled a sumptuous volley into the corner. }}
  • (of a country, person, etc) To give influence to.
  • To suit; to be adjusted or conformable.
    • (Shakespeare)
  • (obsolete) To imagine; to conceive.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Oft my jealousy / Shapes faults that are not.

    Synonyms

    * (give shape) form, mold

    Derived terms

    * beshape * foreshape * forshape * misshape * overshape * shape up

    Anagrams

    * * * 1000 English basic words

    character

    English

    Noun

  • A being involved in the action of a story.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=The stories did not seem to me to touch life. […] They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.}}
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 26, author=Tasha Robinson, work=The Onion AV Club
    • , title= Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits , passage=But Pirates! comes with all the usual Aardman strengths intact, particularly the sense that its characters and creators alike are too good-hearted and sweet to nitpick. The ambition is all in the craft rather than in the storytelling, but it’s hard to say no to the proficiency of that craft, or the mild good cheer behind it. }}
  • A distinguishing feature; characteristic.
  • A complex of mental and ethical traits marking a person or a group.
  • * Motley
    • a man of thoroughly subservient character
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=3 , passage=Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.}}
  • Strength of mind; resolution; independence; individuality; moral strength.
    • He has a great deal of character .
  • A unique or extraordinary individual; a person characterized by peculiar or notable traits, especially charisma.
    • Julius Caesar is a great historical character .
  • A written or printed symbol, or letter.
  • * Holder
    • It were much to be wished that there were throughout the world but one sort of character for each letter to express it to the eye.
  • Style of writing or printing; handwriting; the particular form of letters used by a person or people.
    • an inscription in the Runic character
  • * Shakespeare
    • You know the character to be your brother's?
  • (computing) One of the basic elements making up a text file or string: a code representing a printing character or a control character.
  • (informal) A person or individual, especially one who is unknown or raises suspicions.
  • (mathematics) A complex number representing an element of a finite Abelian group.
  • Quality, position, rank, or capacity; quality or conduct with respect to a certain office or duty.
    • in the miserable character of a slave
    in his character as a magistrate
  • (dated) The estimate, individual or general, put upon a person or thing; reputation.
    • a man's character for truth and veracity
    Her actions give her a bad character .
  • * Addison
    • This subterraneous passage is much mended since Seneca gave so bad a character of it.
  • (dated) A reference given to a servant, attesting to his/her behaviour, competence, etc.

    • Usage notes

    A comparison of character'' and ''reputation'': It would be well if ''character'' and ''reputation were used distinctively. In truth, character is what a person is; reputation is what he is supposed to be. Character is in himself, reputation is in the minds of others. Character is injured by temptations, and by wrongdoing; reputation by slanders, and libels. Character endures throughout defamation in every form, but perishes when there is a voluntary transgression; reputation may last through numerous transgressions, but be destroyed by a single, and even an unfounded, accusation or aspersion.

    Derived terms

    * cartoon character * character actor * character assassination * character class * character encoding * characterise / characterize * characterisation / characterization * characteristic * characterless * character recognition * character set * character theory * Chinese character * control character * dominant character * escape character * fictional character * in character * null character * out of character * player character * round character * staple character * stock character * whitespace character (character)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To write (using characters); To describe

    • See also

    * codepoint * font * glyph * letter * symbol * rune * pictogram

    Statistics

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