representation

[rep-ri-zen-tey-shuh n, -zuh n-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR representation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of representing.

the state of being represented.

the expression or designation by some term, character, symbol, or the like.

action or speech on behalf of a person, group, business house, state, or the like by an agent, deputy, or representative.

the state or fact of being so represented: to demand representation on a board of directors.

Government. the state, fact, or right of being represented by delegates having a voice in legislation or government.

the body or number of representatives, as of a constituency.

Diplomacy.

the act of speaking or negotiating on behalf of a state.
an utterance on behalf of a state.

presentation to the mind, as of an idea or image.

a mental image or idea so presented; concept.

the act of portrayal, picturing, or other rendering in visible form.

a picture, figure, statue, etc.

the production or a performance of a play or the like, as on the stage.

Often representations. a description or statement, as of things true or alleged.

a statement of facts, reasons, etc., made in appealing or protesting; a protest or remonstrance.

Law. an implication or statement of fact to which legal liability may attach if material: a representation of authority.

Origin of representation

1375–1425; late Middle English representacion < Latin repraesentātiōn- (stem of repraesentātiō), equivalent to repraesentāt(us) (past participle of repraesentāre to represent) + -iōn- -ion

Related formsnon·rep·re·sen·ta·tion, nouno·ver·rep·re·sen·ta·tion, nounpre·rep·re·sen·ta·tion, nounself-rep·re·sen·ta·tion, nounun·der·rep·re·sen·ta·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for representation

depiction, portrayal, image, impression, likeness, delineation, personification, impersonation, enactment, illustration, delegation, duplicate, design, imitation, reproduction, narration, copy, exhibition, adumbration, picture

Examples from the Web for representation

Contemporary Examples of representation

With all that said, representation of each of these respective communities has increased in the new Congress.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress
Dean Obeidallah
January 8, 2015
The show, Bell Hooks argued in Black Looks: Race and Representation, “represents wom[e]n as the object of a phallocentric gaze.”
Science-Fiction TV Finds a New Muse: Feminism
David Levesley
November 29, 2014
But Hollywood still is stalling when it was comes to LGBT representation in film.
The Gays Are Taking Over TV (Well, Kind Of)
Kevin Fallon
October 1, 2014
The price these supposedly heroic battalion commanders demanded for their combat roles is representation in parliament.
Ukraine’s President Wowed Congress, But His Party Has a Dark Side
Anna Nemtsova
September 19, 2014
The big screen offered more vistas of representation than TV at that moment.
How Robin Williams’ Mrs. Doubtfire Won the Culture Wars
Tim Teeman
August 13, 2014

Historical Examples of representation

The first of them ends with his retirement from the representation of Newark.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
The representation is one of the Sun-God Dionysos upon a cross.
The Non-Christian Cross
John Denham Parsons
The story of Mary and her family illustrates this representation.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II
Francis Augustus Cox
There is something gentle, as well as effectual, in the representation.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II
Francis Augustus Cox
A representation in two dimensions of something wearisome in three.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce

British Dictionary definitions for representation

representation

noun

the act or an instance of representing or the state of being represented

anything that represents, such as a verbal or pictorial portrait

anything that is represented, such as an image brought clearly to mind

the principle by which delegates act for a constituency

a body of representatives

contract law a statement of fact made by one party to induce another to enter into a contract

an instance of acting for another, on his authority, in a particular capacity, such as executor or administrator

a dramatic production or performance

(often plural) a statement of facts, true or alleged, esp one set forth by way of remonstrance or expostulation

linguistics an analysis of a word, sentence, etc, into its constituentsphonetic representation

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

Word Origin and History for representation

c.1400, "image, likeness," from Old French representacion (14c.) and directly from Latin representationem (nominative representatio), noun of action from past participle stem of repraesentare (see represent). Meaning "statement made in regard to some matter" is from 1670s. Legislative sense first attested 1769.