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, example, exemplification, illustration, instance, prototype, representative, sample, specimenRelated 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, ideal, idea, model, nonesuch, nonpareil, paragon, patron saintRelated 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, quintessence, ideal, perfectionRelated 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