Hallmark Meaning
/ˈhɔːlmɑːk/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA distinguishing characteristic.
nounAn official marking made by a trusted party, usually an assay office, on items made of precious metals.
Sentence Examples
A certain hallmark of wisdom is the cheerful benevolence it confers.
The hallmark of a sociopath is a lack of empathy.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of this brand is its high quality and durability.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Excellent customer service and attention to detail have long been the ____ of this world-famous luxury hotel.
Word Origin & History
1721. From hall + mark, from Goldsmiths' Hall in London, the site of the assay office, official stamp of purity in gold and silver articles. The general sense of “mark of quality” first recorded 1864. Use as a verb from 1773.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"You know what a university is, and a university degree? It is the necessary hallmark of a man who wants to do anything in teaching."
— 1894 December – 1895 November, Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], published 1896, →OCLC:
"The inference appears to be that there is some subtle connection between immorality and art, as if the handling of the lewd, or the depicting of it, were in some sort the hallmark of the true artist."
— 1907, Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter VII, in Through the Magic Door, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, page 147:
"A man needs only to be careful—and lucky—to live a long time in the Solomons; but he must also be of the right sort. He must have the hall-mark of the inevitable white man stamped upon his soul."
— 1910 March, Jack London, “The Terrible Solomons”, in South Sea Tales, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, published October 1911, →OCLC, page 200:
"In everything Brent said and did and wore, in all his movements, gestures, expressions, there was the unmistakable hallmark of the man worth while."
— a. 1911, David Graham Phillips, Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise:
"Arsene Wenger's side showed little of the style and fluidity that is their hallmark but this was about digging deep and getting the job done, qualities they demonstrated and that will serve them well as the season reaches its climax."
— 2011 February 1, Phil McNulty, “Arsenal 2 - 1 Everton”, in BBC:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of this brand is its high quality and durability.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Excellent customer service and attention to detail have long been the ____ of this world-famous luxury hotel.