representative

[ rep-ri-zen-tuh-tiv ]

noun

1. a person or thing that represents another or others.
2. an agent or deputy:

   a legal representative.

3. a person who represents a constituency or community in a legislative body, especially a member of the U.S. House of Representatives or a lower house in certain state legislatures.
4. a typical example or specimen of a group, quality, or kind.

adjective

1. serving to represent; representing.

   Synonyms: characteristic, typical, exemplary, symbolic

2. standing or acting for another or others.
3. made up of representatives:

   a representative assembly.

4. Government. of or relating to a system of governance by chosen representatives, usually elected from among a large group, as in representative democracy representative government
5. exemplifying a group or kind; typical:

   a representative selection of Elizabethan plays.

6. corresponding to or replacing some other species or the like, as in a different locality.
7. of, relating to, or characteristic of representationalism.
8. pertaining to or of the nature of a mental image or representation.

representative

/ ˌrɛprɪˈzɛntətɪv /

noun

1. a person or thing that represents another or others
2. a person who represents and tries to sell the products or services of a firm, esp a travelling salesman Often shortened torep
3. a typical example
4. See House of Representatives
   a person representing a constituency in a deliberative, legislative, or executive body, esp ( capital ) a member of the House of Representatives (the lower house of Congress) See also House of Representatives
5. a rugby player, football player, etc, chosen to represent a province in interprovincial sports

adjective

1. serving to represent; symbolic
2. 1. exemplifying a class or kind; typical

      a representative example of the species

   2. containing or including examples of all the interests, types, etc, in a group

      a representative collection

3. acting as deputy or proxy for another or others
4. acting for or representing a constituency or the whole people in the process of government

   a representative council

5. of, characterized by, or relating to the political principle of representation of the people

   representative government

6. of or relating to a mental picture or representation

Derived Forms

• ˌrepreˈsentativeness, noun
• ˌrepreˈsentatively, adverb

Other Words From

• repre·senta·tive·ly adverb
• repre·senta·tive·ness noun
• nonrep·re·senta·tive noun adjective
• nonrep·re·senta·tive·ly adverb
• nonrep·re·senta·tive·ness noun
• over·repre·senta·tive adjective
• over·repre·senta·tive·ly adverb
• over·repre·senta·tive·ness noun
• unrep·re·senta·tive adjective
• unrep·re·senta·tive·ly adverb
• unrep·re·senta·tive·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of representative¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (adjective), from Medieval Latin repraesentātīvus, from repraesentāt(us) “made present” ( representation ) + -īvus -ive

Example Sentences

Registration is $10 and participants will be calling their representatives in Congress.

From Washington Blade

Awbrey used to be Faulconer’s representative for the Midway area.

From Voice of San Diego

Google has more than 10,000 raters around the world, including one in every single state in order to get a representative view of all searchers.

From Search Engine Land

The actor’s representatives didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

From Fortune

Andrea Salinas, a state representative from Lake Oswego, said she would file a bill to restore severance taxes.

From ProPublica

Duke was a state representative whose neo-Nazi alliances were disgorged in media reports during his run for governor in 1991.

From The Daily Beast

There are four photos there of representative presidential candidates.

From The Daily Beast

Scalise was a state representative old enough to remember the notoriety of Farrell and Knight from years before.

From The Daily Beast

For his part, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has expressed his “full confidence” in Representative Scalise.

From The Daily Beast

He is a representative of the Free Russia Foundation, an organization which aims to rebuild freedom and democracy in Russia.

From The Daily Beast

He was the most distinguished representative of the English school of composition, and was knighted in 1842.

From Project Gutenberg

By far the most important of the conjugate sulphates and representative of the group is potassium indoxyl sulphate.

From Project Gutenberg

It is not surprising after this to learn that some children are slow in seizing the representative character of acting.

From Project Gutenberg

It had its counterpart on the political side in the rise of representative democratic government.

From Project Gutenberg

Like art, too, on its representative side, play aims at producing an imitation or semblance of something.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• agent
• commissioner
• counselor
• delegate
• deputy
• lawyer
• legislator
• member
• senator