exemplar

exemplar

noun

Definition of EXEMPLAR

1

one of a group or collection that shows what the whole is like <the village's Congregational church could serve as an exemplar of the white clapboard church with a steeple that is a fixture in old New England towns>

Synonyms case, exemplar, exemplification, illustration, instance, prototype, representative, sample, specimen

Related Words archetype, classic, locus classicus, paradigm; cross section, microcosm; evidence, indication, manifestation, sign

2

someone of such unequaled perfection as to deserve imitation <few of history's heroes were quite the exemplars that generations of schoolteachers made them out to be>

Synonyms beau ideal, classic, eidolon, exemplar, idea, model, nonesuch, nonpareil, paragon, patron saint

Related Words role model; embodiment, epitome, incarnation, manifestation, personification, phantom, pink; archetype, example, mirror, paradigm, pattern; guideline, principle, rule; gauge (also gage), standard, touchstone; essence, quintessence; acme, apex, apotheosis, culmination, peak, pinnacle, summit, zenith

3

the most perfect type or example <the paintings of the French painter Claude Monet are often regarded as exemplars of Impressionism>

Synonyms acme, apotheosis, beau ideal, byword, classic, epitome, exemplar, ideal, perfection

Related Words archetype, model, prototype; paradigm, standard; nonpareil, paragon; abstract, avatar, embodier, embodiment, incarnation, incorporation, manifestation, personification; height, last word, meridian, ultimate, zenith; benchmark, criterion, touchstone, yardstick