Meaning & use
main character
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Meanings
nouncountable
The person in a book, film or play whose story the work follows most closely.
Grammar: Can be counted: a story with two main characters.
Patterns
- the main character of something
- the main character in something
The main character in the novel is a young fisherman.
Our teacher asked us to describe the main character's goal.
The film's main character changes a great deal by the end.
nouncountableinformalhumorous
Someone who acts as if everything revolves around them, as if they were the star of their own story.
Grammar: Often in the phrase main character energy or syndrome.
Patterns
- act like the main character
- have main character energy
She walked into the party like she was the main character.
He treats every group trip as if he is the main character.
Wearing sunglasses indoors gave him main character energy.
Word forms
| plural | main characters |
|---|
Common combinations
- the main character's journey
- The main character's journey takes him across the country.
- play the main character
- She will play the main character in the school play.
- main character energy
- He has such main character energy at parties.
- relate to the main character
- Many readers relate to the main character.
- the story's main character
- The story's main character is a shy teenager.
Synonyms and how they differ
- protagonist
- Protagonist is the more literary and exact term, while main character is the plain everyday phrase.
- hero
- Hero implies someone admirable, but a main character can be flawed or even villainous.
- lead
- Lead is mostly used for actors in a film or play, not for the character in a book.
Opposites
Word family
- character noun
- a person in a story
- characterize verb
- to describe the qualities of someone
- characterization noun
- the way an author builds a character
Commonly confused: main character or main idea?
main character vs main idea
The main idea is the central point of a text, whereas the main character is a person within the story.
Practice
In the novel, the ____ is a girl who leaves home to find her brother, and the whole plot follows her.
Choose one answer.
The main character is the one the plot follows. A minor character appears only briefly, and the setting is a place, not a person.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “main character”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.