exemplar

[ ig-zem-pler, -plahr ]

/ ɪgˈzɛm plər, -plɑr /

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See synonyms for exemplar on Thesaurus.com

noun

a model or pattern to be copied or imitated: Washington is the exemplar of patriotic virtue.

a typical example or instance.

an original or archetype: Plato thought nature but a copy of ideal exemplars.

a copy of a book or text.

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Also Archaic, ex·am·plar

[ig-zam-pler, -zahm-] /ɪgˈzæm plər, -ˈzɑm-/ .

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; see exemplary

Words nearby exemplar

exegesis, exegete, exegetic, exegetical, exegetics, exemplar, exemplarism, exemplary, exemplary damages, exempli causa, exemplification

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use exemplar in a sentence

In a 2020 column, New Yorker writer Kyle Chayka dubbed the genre “ambient TV,” offering up Netflix’s Emily in Paris as the exemplar.
Is watching TV actually a good way to relax?|Corinne Iozzio|January 27, 2021|Popular-Science
Yet, for daughters there is the additional role of being an exemplar of all she can hope to be.
How To Find Freedom From Grief|Jasmine Grant|January 7, 2021|Essence.com
The thing that theater fundamentally does is bring people together, and this production is a great exemplar of theater as a unifying force.
Theaters are shut, but ‘A Christmas Carol’ is forever. The endless variety online proves it.|Peter Marks|December 17, 2020|Washington Post
Research shows student outcomes are, overall, largely the same in charter and traditional public schools, although there are failures and exemplars in both.
How a soccer club won a $1.2 million grant from DeVos’s Education Department to open a charter school|Valerie Strauss|December 3, 2020|Washington Post

They seem to be one and the same, and I’m not sure there could be a better exemplar than him of what I would like our program to be.
Virginia football loses captain Charles Snowden to a season-ending injury|Gene Wang|November 23, 2020|Washington Post
This “happiness” poster child makes an odd exemplar for the 21st century.
In the Future We'll All Be Renters: America's Disappearing Middle Class|Joel Kotkin|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Unlike Russia, their country is a world soccer power, with an open, democratic society, a civic exemplar.
Best Way to Punish Putin? No World Cup|Tunku Varadarajan|July 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The novel is simultaneously a celebration and an exemplar of the joys of storytelling.
American Dreams, 1973: The Princess Bride by William Goldman|Nathaniel Rich|August 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Those who loved Pete will miss him desperately, and cherish his memory as an exemplar of integrity, courage, and grace under fire.
Peter Worthington, 1927-2013|David Frum|May 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Yet the book, curiously, was not considered an outstanding exemplar.
What Director Alan Pakula’s Papers Reveal About Watergate|Max Holland|June 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It certainly seems clear that he took the son of Maya, rather than the child of Mary, as his exemplar.
Ancient Faiths And Modern|Thomas Inman
We form our groups round certain selected Kinds, each of which serves as a sort of exemplar of its group.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive|John Stuart Mill
But its development was scarcely appreciable, from lack of opportunity and of exemplar.
Four Years in Rebel Capitals|T. C. DeLeon
Who would expect Sir Sidney Lee to have had so remote an exemplar?
A Boswell of Baghdad|E. V. Lucas
Dr. Thomas belongs to the Masonic fraternity and is a faithful exemplar of the teachings of the craft.
Lyman's History of old Walla Walla County, Vol. 2 (of 2)|William Denison Lyman

British Dictionary definitions for exemplar

exemplar

/ (ɪɡˈzɛmplə, -plɑː) /

noun

a person or thing to be copied or imitated; model

a typical specimen or instance; example

a copy of a book or text on which further printings have been based

Word Origin for exemplar

C14: from Latin exemplarium model, from exemplum example

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

exemplar

Origin of exemplar

Words nearby exemplar

Words related to exemplar

How to use exemplar in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for exemplar

Word Origin for exemplar