characteristic vs different

characteristic

adj
  • Being a distinguishing feature of a person or thing. 

noun
  • A distinguishing feature of a person or thing. 

  • For a given field or ring, a natural number that is either the smallest positive number n such that n instances of the multiplicative identity (1) summed together yield the additive identity (0) or, if no such number exists, the number 0. 

  • The integer part of a logarithm. 

  • The distinguishing features of a navigational light on a lighthouse etc by which it can be identified (colour, pattern of flashes etc.). 

different

adj
  • Various, assorted, diverse. 

  • Not the same; exhibiting a difference. 

  • Distinct, separate; used for emphasis after numbers and other determiners of quantity. 

  • Unlike most others; unusual. 

adv
  • Differently. 

noun
  • The different ideal. 

How often have the words characteristic and different occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )