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
Other highlights include a sterling silver exemplar of “Box of Smile,” which is a small box containing a mirror inside.
From Salon • Nov. 25, 2025
The exemplar of this era is Nvidia Corp.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 3, 2025
Brig Guy Foden said he was a "super soldier" and in a "remarkable company stood out at the top", adding he was a "master of his profession" and an "exemplar of the Royal Anglian".
From BBC • Mar. 3, 2025
The original exemplar of American social mobility was almost certainly Benjamin Franklin, one of seventeen children of a candle maker.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
