Trait Meaning
/tɹeɪt/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn identifying characteristic, habit or trend.
nounAn uninstantiable collection of methods that provides functionality to a class by using the class’s own interface.
Sentence Examples
Woman's intuition is clearly a valuable trait.
It's a family trait.
Generosity is an important trait in today's selfish society.
CEFR Practice Quiz
One important ____ of a good leader is the ability to listen carefully.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Patience is a very important ____ to have if you want to be successful in a job that involves working with people today.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Middle French trait (“line, feature”), from Latin tractus (“drawing, pulling”), from Latin trahō. Doublet of tract.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The English, of all classes, value themselves on this trait, as distinguishing them from the French, who, in the popular belief, are more polite than true."
— 1856, Ralph Waldo Emerson, English Traits, Truth:
"The positive and constructive aspect of possibility gives the key to understanding the two chief traits of immaturity, dependence and plasticity."
— 1916, John Dewey, Democracy and Education:
"Turning to our second trait, if you have straight hair, then both of your parents must carry an allele for this trait."
— 2003, Robert S. Siegler, Judy S. DeLoache, Nancy Eisenberg, How Children Develop, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 89:
"Traits are parametrized on other methods, which must be provided to create a class using the trait. Using a trait-like mechanism to compose large collections of mutually-dependent classes or traits could lead to parameter explosion."
— 2006, Nathaniel J. Nystrom, Programming languages for scalable software extension and composition:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
One important ____ of a good leader is the ability to listen carefully.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Patience is a very important ____ to have if you want to be successful in a job that involves working with people today.