representative

1 of 2

adjective

rep·​re·​sen·​ta·​tive ˌre-pri-ˈzen-tə-tiv 

1

: serving to represent

2

a

: standing or acting for another especially through delegated authority

b

: of, based on, or constituting a government in which the many are represented by persons chosen from among them usually by election

3

: serving as a typical or characteristic example

a representative moviegoer

4

: of or relating to representation or representationalism

representatively adverb

representativeness noun

representativity

ˌre-pri-ˌzen-tə-ˈti-və-tē 

noun

representative

2 of 2

noun

1

: one that represents another or others: such as

a(1)

: one that represents a constituency as a member of a legislative body

(2)

: a member of the house of representatives of the U.S. Congress or a state legislature

b

: one that represents another as agent, deputy, substitute, or delegate usually being invested with the authority of the principal

c

: one that represents a business organization

d

: one that represents another as successor or heir

2

: a typical example of a group, class, or quality : specimen

Synonyms

Adjective

• archetypal
• archetypical
• average
• characteristic
• normal
• regular
• standard
• true
• typical

Noun

• agent
• assignee
• attorney
• commissary
• delegate
• deputy
• envoy
• factor
• minister
• procurator
• proxy
• rep

Examples of representative in a Sentence

Adjective

The paintings are representative of English art in the early 19th century.

The students chosen for the survey are a fairly representative sample of college students from across the U.S.

Noun

Do you know who your representatives are?

The bill was introduced by Representative Smith.

a representative of her age group

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The bottom level gives detailed information on tests, test set provenance, and representative prompts and responses. —IEEE Spectrum, 16 Apr. 2024

So in 2022, Siddiqui underwent IVF at Stanford, wound up with 16 contenders, and sent off representative slivers to Orchid’s lab in North Carolina. —Jason Kehe, WIRED, 10 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1635, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

representative

1 of 2 adjective

rep·​re·​sen·​ta·​tive ˌrep-ri-ˈzent-ət-iv 

1

: serving to represent

a painting representative of a battle

2

: standing or acting for another especially through delegated authority

3

: of, based upon, or being a government in which the people are represented by persons chosen from among them usually by election

4

: serving as a typical example of the thing mentioned

a representative athlete

representatively adverb

representativeness noun

representative

2 of 2 noun

1

: a typical example of a group, class, or quality

2

: one that represents another or others : delegate

especially : a member of the house of representatives of the U.S. Congress or a state legislature

Legal Definition

representative

1 of 2 adjective

rep·​re·​sen·​ta·​tive

1

: serving to represent

2

a

: standing or acting for another especially through delegated authority

an agent acting in a representative capacity

b

: of, based on, or constituting a government in which the people are represented by individuals chosen from among them usually by election

3

: of or relating to representation

representative

2 of 2 noun

: one that represents another or others in a special capacity: as

a

: one that represents a constituency as a member of a legislative or other governing body

specifically : a member of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress or a state legislature

b

: one that represents another as agent, deputy, substitute, or delegate and that usually is invested with the authority of the principal

c

: one that represents or stands in the place of a deceased person : personal representative

d

: one that represents another as successor or heir

e

: one named as the plaintiff or defendant in a class action to litigate on behalf of the class