What does "role" mean?
A character or part played by a performer or actor.
Role
/ɹəʊl/ noun
noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A character or part played by a performer or actor.
- Grammar: role is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: character, function, part, persona.
- Useful contrasts: irrelevance, no function, no role.
- Usage evidence: Mary played the role of an old woman in the play.
How to use "role"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "role" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "role" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "role" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "role" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "role" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "character" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "role", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A character or part played by a performer or actor.
"My neighbor was the lead role in last year's village play."
- 2 An ancient unit of quantity, 72 sheets of parchment. historical
- 3 the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group wordnet
- 4 The expected behaviour of an individual in a society.
"The role of women has changed significantly in the last century."
- 5 normal or customary activity of a person in a particular social setting wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 The function or position of something.
"Local volunteers played an important role in cleaning the beach after the oil spill."
- 7 what something is used for wordnet
- 8 Designation that denotes an associated set of responsibilities, knowledge, skills, or privileges
"The project manager role is responsible for ensuring that everyone on the team knows and executes his or her assigned tasks."
- 9 an actor's portrayal of someone in a play wordnet
- 10 The function of a word in a phrase.
"Examining these verbs one by one, what one finds is that Auxiliary Selection does correlate in the expected way with the two kinds of optional transitivity, confirming that with each predicate, one semantic role has a fixed link with initial 1-hood, another with initial 2-hood."
- 11 In the Raku programming language, a code element akin to an interface, used for composition of classes without adding to their inheritance chain.
Antonyms
Example
"Mary played the role of an old woman in the play."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "role"?
Common synonyms include: character, function, part, persona, purpose, act as helper.
How do you use "role" in a sentence?
Mary played the role of an old woman in the play.
How do you pronounce "role"?
Pronounced /ɹəʊl/.
Etymology
From French rôle, from Middle French rolle, from Old French role, from Medieval Latin rotulus. Doublet of roll and rotulus.