Representative
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
representative (adjective)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 by persons chosen from among them usually by election - represented
3.
serving as a typical or characteristic example - a representative moviegoer
4.
of or relating to or - representation representationalism
1.
one that another or others as - represents
a) (1) one that represents a constituency as a member of a legislative body
(2) a member of the house of of the United States Congress or a state legislature - representatives
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
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
representative (adjective)1.
having or showing the qualities associated with the members of a particular group or kind
SYNONYMS:
archetypal ( archetypical), average, characteristic, normal, regular, representative, standard, trueRELATED WORDS:
common, commonplace, conventional, customary, everyday, ordinary, usual, wonted, workaday; classic, textbook, vintage; expected, familiar, habitual, predictable, routine, unexceptional, unremarkable; predominant, preponderantNEAR 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 ( whacky), way-out; bizarre, fantastic ( fantastical), far-out, freak, freakish, kooky ( kookie), out-of-the-way, outrageous, outré, rare, singular, unnatural, weird, wild2.
having the function or meaning of an object or figure that stands for something else
SYNONYMS:
emblematic ( emblematical), representational, representativeRELATED WORDS:
figural, figurative, metaphoric ( metaphorical), tropological; allegoricalNEAR ANTONYMS:
actual, literal1.
a person who acts or does business for another
SYNONYMS:
assignee, attorney, commissary, delegate, deputy, envoy, factor, minister, procurator, proxy, rep, representativeRELATED WORDS:
ambassador, diplomat, diplomatist, emissary, foreign minister, legate, plenipotentiary; alternate, backup, pinch hitter, relief, replacement, stand-in, sub, substitute, surrogate, understudy; informer, operative, spy; broker, distributor, manager; arbiter, arbitrator, comprador ( compradore), conciliator, go-between, intercessor, intermediary, interposer, liaison, mediator, middleman, peacemaker; mouthpiece, point man, point person, prophet, speaker, spokesman, spokesperson2.
a person sent on a mission to represent another
SYNONYMS:
agent, delegate, emissary, envoy, legate, minister, representativeRELATED WORDS:
ambassadress; attaché, chargé d'affaires, consul, deputy, diplomat, foreign minister, nuncio, procurator, proxy; apostle, evangelist, missionary; deputation, detachment, legation; courier, messenger; mouthpiece, spokesperson3.
one of a group or collection that shows what the whole is like
SYNONYMS:
case, exemplar, exemplification, illustration, instance, prototype, representative, sample, specimenRELATED WORDS:
archetype, classic, locus classicus, paradigm; cross section, microcosm; evidence, indication, manifestation, sign
