exemplar
Americannoun
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a model or pattern to be copied or imitated.
Washington is the exemplar of patriotic virtue.
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a typical example or instance.
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an original or archetype.
Plato thought nature but a copy of ideal exemplars.
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a copy of a book or text.
noun
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a person or thing to be copied or imitated; model
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a typical specimen or instance; example
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a copy of a book or text on which further printings have been based
Etymology
Origin of exemplar
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin, variant of exemplāre, noun use of neuter of exemplāris “relating or pertaining to a model or pattern,” replacing Middle English exaumplere, from Middle French examplaire, from Latin exemplāris; exemplary
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This novel, winner of the Booker Prize, uses a blunt, clipped style to advantage, exposing Istvan as an exemplar of both toxic masculinity and hinting at what’s required to escape it.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2025
The exemplar of this era is Nvidia Corp.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 3, 2025
"Richard Nixon is typically considered the modern exemplar of a dark and vindictive president," Wilson wrote for The Daily Beast in 2016.
From Salon • Apr. 29, 2025
The founders’ fears of dictatorship found a real-world overseas exemplar soon after the Constitution was ratified.
From Slate • Feb. 21, 2025
According to this guideline, like may be used only for resemblance to an exemplar, as in I’ll find someone like you and Poems are made by fools like me.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
