rep·re·sen·ta·tive
ˌre-pri-ˈzen-tə-tiv 
1
: serving to represent
a painting representative of a storm
2
a
: standing or acting for another especially through delegated authority
b
: of, based on, or constituting a government in which the many are represented by persons chosen from among them usually by election
representative democracy
3
a
: serving as a typical or characteristic example of a particular group of people or of a particular thing
a representative moviegoer
a representative romantic poem
The paintings are representative of English art in the early 19th century.
b
: including examples of the different types of people or things in a group
The students chosen for the survey are a fairly representative sample of college students from across the U.S.
However, representation simply is not enough—especially when it is one-dimensional, superficial, or not actually representative. Some scholars describe how Asian American media depictions still tend to reinforce stereotypes …—
Kevin Leo Yabut Nadal
Kevin Leo Yabut Nadal4
: of or relating to representation or representationalism
plural representatives
1
: someone or something that represents another or others: such as
a(1)
: someone who represents a constituency as a member of a legislative body
(2)
: a member of the house of representatives of the U.S. Congress or a state legislature
state representatives
b
: someone who represents another as agent, deputy, substitute, or delegate usually being invested with the authority of the principal
c
: someone who represents a business organization
a sales representative
d
: someone who represents a social group sharing an affiliation or culture
Various representatives of community resources and cultures assisted in deepening the recruits' understanding of the community, its people, available services, and fostering connections with local non-profit organizations.—Marla Poirier
Marla Poirier
e
: someone who represents another as successor or heir
2
: a typical example of a group, class, or quality : specimen
Examples of representative in a Sentence
Adjective
The paintings are representative of English art in the early 19th century.
The students chosen for the survey are a fairly representative sample of college students from across the U.S.
Noun
Do you know who your representatives are?
The bill was introduced by Representative Smith.
a representative of her age group
Recent Examples on the Web
ArsTechnica, 30 May 2025
While onshore producers of oil and gas have many similar operational and economic traits, such as the shrinking inventory of top tier wells, this decoupling is representative of a fundamentally different outlook for the future of each commodity.
—Bryce Erickson, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 1 June 2025
Many of the videos encourage viewers to donate to organizations such as the National Park Foundation or to call their local representatives to advocate for protecting public lands, part of a long tradition of using social media to organize social and political movements.
—Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for representative
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
In this case, the study was limited to a single incel forum, which might not be broadly representative of similar discussions on other platforms.
—ArsTechnica, 30 May 2025
While onshore producers of oil and gas have many similar operational and economic traits, such as the shrinking inventory of top tier wells, this decoupling is representative of a fundamentally different outlook for the future of each commodity.
—Bryce Erickson, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
Noun
Billboard has reached out to the group’s representatives for comment.
—Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 1 June 2025
Many of the videos encourage viewers to donate to organizations such as the National Park Foundation or to call their local representatives to advocate for protecting public lands, part of a long tradition of using social media to organize social and political movements.
—Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for representative
Cite this Entry
“Representative.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/representative. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
representative
1 of 2 adjective
rep·re·sen·ta·tive
ˌrep-ri-ˈzent-ət-iv
1
: serving to represent
a painting representative of a battle
2
: standing or acting for another especially through delegated authority
3
: of, based upon, or being a government in which the people are represented by persons chosen from among them usually by election
4
: serving as a typical example of the thing mentioned
a representative athlete
representatively
adverb
representativeness
noun
representative
2 of 2 noun1
: a typical example of a group, class, or quality
2
: one that represents another or others : delegate
especially
: a member of the house of representatives of the U.S. Congress or a state legislature
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