representational
Americanadjective
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of or relating to representation.
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representing or depicting an object in a recognizable manner.
representational art.
adjective
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fine arts depicting or attempting to depict objects, scenes, figures, etc, directly as seen; naturalistic
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of or relating to representation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of representational
First recorded in 1850–55; representation + -al 1
Explanation
In art, anything that's representational depicts things as they are. A representational portrait of your mom will accurately depict the shape of her face, her hair color, and her eye color. Representational art depicts recognizable, real-world things, people, or events. A sketch of boats on the ocean, gulls flying overhead in a sky full of clouds, is representational, with every element of the drawing representing something physical. Other types of art are much more abstract, reflecting emotions or ideas — like a Jackson Pollock canvas splattered with paint. Representational comes from the Latin repraesentare, "show or display."
Vocabulary lists containing representational
Visual Arts - Introductory
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Visual Arts - High School
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Art History
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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.
One area traces the evolution of Celtic coins—from the early adoption and imitation of foreign representational prototypes to their abstract reinvention, rooted in Celtic mythology.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
Certainly, this representational role is a dimension of the presidency with which he has seemed at ease.
From BBC • Oct. 9, 2024
They tend to have a much harder time ascending the stratified ranks of culture and politics, becoming the published authors and elected officials who might provide representational equality.
From Salon • Aug. 13, 2024
This is where making the series about Muslim women rockers accomplishes more than representational box-ticking: It makes an old story new and nuanced.
From New York Times • May 29, 2024
The disadvantage is that representational art, like prose, is always bound to the literal meaning and appearance of the everyday world, at least to some extent.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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.
