representative

representative

adjective

Definition of REPRESENTATIVE

1

having or showing the qualities associated with the members of a particular group or kind <a representative example of what that talented chef can do with even simple ingredients>

Synonyms archetypal (also archetypical), average, characteristic, normal, regular, representative, standard, true

Related Words common, commonplace, conventional, customary, everyday, ordinary, usual, wonted, workaday; classic, textbook, vintage; expected, familiar, habitual, predictable, routine, unexceptional, unremarkable; predominant, preponderant

Near Antonyms uncommon, unconventional, uncustomary, unusual, unwonted; distinctive, especial, exceptional, extraordinary, infrequent, noteworthy, rare, remarkable, singular, special, unexpected, unfamiliar, unique, unpredictable; eccentric, idiosyncratic, nonconformist, peculiar, unknown, unorthodox; curious, erratic, funky, funny, odd, oddball, offbeat, outlandish, quirky, screwy, strange, wacky (also whacky), way-out; bizarre, fantastic (also fantastical), far-out, freak, freakish, kooky (also kookie), out-of-the-way, outrageous, outré, rare, singular, unnatural, weird, wild

Antonyms aberrant, abnormal, anomalous, atypical, deviant, irregular, nonrepresentative, nontypical, untypical

2

having the function or meaning of an object or figure that stands for something else <a red cross on this map is representative of a hospital or other medical facility>

Synonyms emblematic (also emblematical), representational, representative

Related Words figural, figurative, metaphoric (or metaphorical), tropological; allegorical

Near Antonyms actual, literal

Antonyms nonsymbolic