Dominant character masks the ……………………. character.

The dominant character masks the recessive character.

Explanation: In genetics, traits are determined by alleles, which are different versions of a gene. When an organism inherits two alleles for a trait (one from each parent), their interaction determines the organism's phenotype (observable characteristics). If one allele is dominant, it will express itself and mask the effect of the other allele, which is recessive.

For example, in pea plants studied by Gregor Mendel, the allele for tall plants (T) is dominant over the allele for short plants (t). In a heterozygous combination (Tt), the plant will appear tall because the dominant allele (T) masks the expression of the recessive allele (t).

Thus, a dominant character (or trait) overshadows the recessive character in heterozygous conditions.