representative
a person or thing that represents another or others.
an agent or deputy: a legal representative.
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.
a typical example or specimen of a group, quality, or kind.
serving to represent; representing.
standing or acting for another or others.
made up of representatives: a representative assembly.
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.
exemplifying a group or kind; typical: a representative selection of Elizabethan plays.
corresponding to or replacing some other species or the like, as in a different locality.
of, relating to, or characteristic of representationalism.
pertaining to or of the nature of a mental image or representation.
Origin of representative
1Other words for representative
Other words from representative
- 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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use representative in a sentence
Lee would need to model about 500 representative cities around the US, she says, to cover the country accurately.
The SEC has three of the top six teams in the current polls but, again, one representative is enough.
Cincinnati and BYU are making a case for the College Football Playoff. Is anyone listening? | John Feinstein | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostA representative from the National Capital Area Council declined to comment on the ongoing bankruptcy case.
Boy Scouts must settle 95,000 abuse claims by next summer — or risk running out of cash | Samantha Schmidt | November 19, 2020 | Washington PostShe was also the representative for the city’s outsized vote on the San Diego Association of Governments.
The Rise and Fall (for Now) of Georgette Gómez | Andrew Keatts | November 16, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoWe built representative income statements and balance sheets for hypothetical companies in 13 different industries, using actual data from the 25 largest public companies in each.
In other words, the system had its points-so long as Americans were willing to trade representativeness for effectiveness.
Memo: The Aaron Sorkin Model of Political Discourse Doesn't Actually Work | Megan McArdle | April 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBut this relation of representativeness which we have discovered gives definiteness.
British Dictionary definitions for representative
/ (ˌrɛprɪˈzɛntətɪv) /
a person or thing that represents another or others
a person who represents and tries to sell the products or services of a firm, esp a travelling salesman: Often shortened to: rep
a typical example
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
NZ a rugby player, football player, etc, chosen to represent a province in interprovincial sports
serving to represent; symbolic
exemplifying a class or kind; typical: a representative example of the species
containing or including examples of all the interests, types, etc, in a group: a representative collection
acting as deputy or proxy for another or others
acting for or representing a constituency or the whole people in the process of government: a representative council
of, characterized by, or relating to the political principle of representation of the people: representative government
of or relating to a mental picture or representation
Derived forms of representative
- representatively, adverb
- representativeness, noun
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
Browse