Meaning & use
character references
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“character references” is a form of “character reference”.
Meaning
nounusually plural
Statements, often letters, from people who know you well, describing your honesty, reliability and personal qualities for an employer, landlord or court.
Grammar: Often plural: submit two character references. The singular, a character reference, names one letter.
Patterns
- character references from someone
- provide character references for someone
The landlord asked for two character references before handing over the keys.
Her former teachers wrote glowing character references for the scholarship board.
The judge read several character references before deciding on the sentence.
Word forms
| singular | character reference |
|---|
Common combinations
- provide character references
- Applicants must provide character references from non-family members.
- glowing character references
- He arrived at the interview with glowing character references.
- request character references
- The agency will request character references from your last two employers.
- write a character reference
- My old coach agreed to write a character reference for me.
- personal and professional character references
- The form asks for both personal and professional character references.
Synonyms and how they differ
- testimonial
- A testimonial praises a person or product, often publicly, while a character reference is a private statement written for a specific decision.
- recommendation
- A recommendation usually backs someone for a job or course, whereas a character reference stresses personal qualities such as honesty.
- endorsement
- Endorsement is a looser word for public support and carries less formal weight than a signed character reference.
Word family
Commonly confused: character references or credentials?
character references vs credentials
Credentials are proof of qualifications or identity, not opinions of other people about your personality.
Practice
A landlord asks a tenant to bring two character references. What should the tenant provide?
Choose one answer.
Character references are statements from people who can speak about your trustworthiness. Photos, addresses and deposits are different requests.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “character references”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.