defining, distinctive, distinguishing, identifying, individual, special, striking, unique
Mobility is the defining characteristic of modern life.

personal
Voters are primarily attracted by the charisma or personal characteristics of a candidate.

common, family, national, shared
acquired, inherited
basic, general
chief, dominant, main, major, outstanding, principal
essential, fundamental, important, key, salient
desirable
behavioural/behavioral, biological, cultural, demographic, economic, genetic, physical, psychological, racial, sexual, social
human

display, exhibit, have, possess, share
The two species have several characteristics in common.

compare, describe, examine, identify

be
become

highly, very
his highly characteristic features

entirely
quite
fairly

of
a problem that was fairly characteristic of late 18th-century society

Characteristic is used with these nouns:
example, expression, fashion, feature, flavour, modesty, odour, shape, signature, style, symptom, trait