as in symbolic
having the function or meaning of an object or figure that stands for something else
a computer program with representational icons for different functions
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Recent Examples of representational
The piece is entirely presentational, with minimal representational actions taking place between the brothers.
—
David John Chávez, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
But the sight of a Jew excelling in sports is even more than a bit of representational inspiration.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 18 Feb. 2026
When attention is this constrained, dedicating visual bandwidth to representational cues necessarily displaces something else.
—Torie Bosch, STAT, 7 Feb. 2026
As that might lead you to expect, there’s not much to be wildly enthused about here, past the representational plane.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 23 Jan. 2026
Researchers began to explore representational similarity among AI models with this approach in the mid-2010s and found that different models’ representations of the same concepts were often similar, though far from identical.
—Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 7 Jan. 2026
Today, this kind of progress is most often depicted by representational politics, the idea that the representation of a minority group or of women in positions of power and privilege are indicators of progress.
—Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025
The walls are festooned with vivid red crosses that sit alongside later, middle-Byzantine frescoes of mesmerizing representational and technical skill.
—Katie Kitamura, Travel + Leisure, 17 Nov. 2025
The effect is to infuse the story with an undeniable and knowing nostalgia; how quaint, at Alma’s party, to find everyone debating matters of representational consequence.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
David John Chávez, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
But the sight of a Jew excelling in sports is even more than a bit of representational inspiration.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 18 Feb. 2026
When attention is this constrained, dedicating visual bandwidth to representational cues necessarily displaces something else.
—Torie Bosch, STAT, 7 Feb. 2026
As that might lead you to expect, there’s not much to be wildly enthused about here, past the representational plane.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 23 Jan. 2026
Researchers began to explore representational similarity among AI models with this approach in the mid-2010s and found that different models’ representations of the same concepts were often similar, though far from identical.
—Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 7 Jan. 2026
Today, this kind of progress is most often depicted by representational politics, the idea that the representation of a minority group or of women in positions of power and privilege are indicators of progress.
—Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025
The walls are festooned with vivid red crosses that sit alongside later, middle-Byzantine frescoes of mesmerizing representational and technical skill.
—Katie Kitamura, Travel + Leisure, 17 Nov. 2025
The effect is to infuse the story with an undeniable and knowing nostalgia; how quaint, at Alma’s party, to find everyone debating matters of representational consequence.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for representational
Adjective
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Canadians’ absence in Las Vegas is symbolic of the United States’ fractured relationship with its neighbor and the ripple effects of unwinding ties between the two countries.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
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The exhibit shows how women have been represented in ceramics, sculpture and symbolic imagery across ancient Mesoamerican cultures and connects the traditions to the lives of powerful women throughout Latin American history.—
Linda Mcintosh,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Not to mention the disproportionate effect this will have on students from diverse and low-income backgrounds, undermining efforts to build a representative health care workforce and preventing even more qualified candidates from entering the field.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Mar. 2026
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Using public data on a nationally representative group of 326 older women and men enrolled in 1999 and 2000, researchers studied the concentration of 11 PFAS and epigenetic markers in blood samples and reviewed participant questionnaires on demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors.—
Sara Moniuszko,
USA Today,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Representational.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/representational. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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