| Library / English Dictionary |
REPRESENTATIVE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An item of information that is typical of a class or group
Example:
there is an example on page 10
Synonyms:
example; illustration; instance; representative
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("representative" is a kind of...):
information (knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "representative"):
apology; excuse (a poor example)
exception (an instance that does not conform to a rule or generalization)
case in point; precedent (an example that is used to justify similar occurrences at a later time)
quintessence (the most typical example or representative of a type)
sample (a small part of something intended as representative of the whole)
specimen (an example regarded as typical of its class)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A member of the United States House of Representatives
Synonyms:
congressman; congresswoman; representative
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("representative" is a kind of...):
legislator (someone who makes or enacts laws)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "representative"):
rep (informal abbreviation of 'representative')
Sense 3
Meaning:
A person who represents others
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("representative" is a kind of...):
negotiant; negotiator; treater (someone who negotiates (confers with others in order to reach a settlement))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "representative"):
union representative (a representative for a labor union)
resident commissioner (the representative of Puerto Rico in the United States House of Representatives)
personal representative (a person who manages the affairs of another)
chief of state; head of state (the chief public representative of a country who may also be the head of government)
emissary; envoy (someone sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else)
delegate (a person appointed or elected to represent others)
contact; middleman (a person who is in a position to give you special assistance)
assemblywoman (a woman assemblyman)
assemblyman (someone who is a member of a legislative assembly)
alderman (a member of a municipal legislative body (as a city council))
agent (a representative who acts on behalf of other persons or organizations)
Sense 4
Meaning:
An advocate who represents someone else's policy or purpose
Example:
the meeting was attended by spokespersons for all the major organs of government
Synonyms:
interpreter; representative; spokesperson; voice
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("representative" is a kind of...):
advocate; advocator; exponent; proponent (a person who pleads for a cause or propounds an idea)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "representative"):
ambassador (an informal representative)
flack; flack catcher; flak; flak catcher (a slick spokesperson who can turn any criticism to the advantage of their employer)
mouth; mouthpiece (a spokesperson (as a lawyer))
spokesman (a male spokesperson)
spokeswoman (a female spokesperson)
bagman; commercial traveler; commercial traveller; roadman; traveling salesman; travelling salesman (a salesman who travels to call on customers)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Being or characteristic of government by representation in which citizens exercise power through elected officers and representatives
Example:
representative government as defined by Abraham Lincoln is government of the people, by the people, for the people
Classified under:
Similar:
democratic (characterized by or advocating or based upon the principles of democracy or social equality)
Derivation:
represent (be a delegate or spokesperson for; represent somebody's interest or be a proxy or substitute for, as of politicians and office holders representing their constituents, or of a tenant representing other tenants in a housing dispute)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Standing for something else
Example:
the bald eagle is representative of the United States
Classified under:
Similar:
allegoric; allegorical (used in or characteristic of or containing allegory)
emblematic; emblematical; symbolic; symbolical (serving as a visible symbol for something abstract)
Antonym:
nonrepresentative (not standing for something else)
Derivation:
represent (express indirectly by an image, form, or model; be a symbol)
represent (serve as a means of expressing something)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Serving to represent or typify
Example:
a representative modern play
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
typical (exhibiting the qualities or characteristics that identify a group or kind or category)
Derivation:
represent (be representative or typical for)
Context examples:
Representative examples include angiomyolipoma, clear cell-sugar-tumor of the lung, and lymphangioleiomyomatosis.
(Neoplasm with Perivascular Epithelioid Cell Differentiation, NCI Thesaurus)
In other words, Lord Avon, I make myself responsible, as the representative of the law, that you are held in safe custody until your person may be required of me.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Representative examples include streptococcal infection, E.coli infection, and bacterial meningitis.
(Neonatal Infectious Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)
Representative examples include nasopharyngitis, angiofibroma, and carcinoma.
(Nasopharyngeal Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)
A representative example is the ovarian mucinous adenofibroma.
(Mucinous Adenofibroma, NCI Thesaurus)
A representative example of benign myoepithelioma is benign salivary gland myoepithelioma.
(Myoepithelial Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus)
Most studies of zooplankton's role have assumed that behavior of particular zooplankton groups is representative of all zooplankton in the sea.
(Research provides new view of the critical role of plankton in marine carbon storage, National Science Foundation)
Representative examples include squamous cell carcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, and mucoepidermoid carcinoma.
(Anterior Tongue Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)
He glared at me as the present representative of the beast.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
"Don't talk to me about heirs and representatives," cried Charles.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
