hallmark

CEFRB2

/ˈhɔːlmɑːk/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A feature that clearly shows the quality or character of something.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    An official marking made by a trusted party, usually an assay office, on items made of precious metals.

Examples

  • A certain hallmark of wisdom is the cheerful benevolence it confers.

  • The hallmark of a sociopath is a lack of empathy.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈhɑɫmɑɹk]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. To provide or stamp with a hallmark.

  2. A distinguishing characteristic.

More examples

In context

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • It can highlight our embodiment, a qualitative step away from the hallmark machines that work so resolutely to disembody us.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank of this brand is its high quality and durability.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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.