Meaning & use
a character reference
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
a written statement about someone's personal qualities and behavior, often for a job or a court.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a character reference' or 'two character references'.
Patterns
- give someone a character reference
- get a character reference from someone
- a character reference for someone
She asked her old teacher to write a character reference for her job application.
The court received a character reference from his employer.
Without a character reference, the landlord would not rent him the apartment.
Word forms
| plural | character references |
|---|
Common combinations
- write a character reference
- Could you write a character reference for me?
- provide a character reference
- He provided a character reference from his coach.
- a glowing character reference
- Her boss gave her a glowing character reference.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reference
- A general word for a statement about your work or character; 'character reference' focuses on personal qualities.
- recommendation
- Often about your abilities and suitability for a job, while a character reference is about your personality.
Commonly confused: a character reference or reference?
a character reference vs reference
A 'reference' can be about your work, but a 'character reference' is specifically about your personal qualities.
Practice
Before hiring him, the company asked for a character reference _____ his former manager.
Choose one answer.
We say 'a character reference from someone' because the person is the source. 'Of' would suggest possession, which is not the usual pattern here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a character reference”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.