representative

Syllables: rep·re·sen·ta·tive/ˌɹɛpɹɪˈzɛnt(ət)ɪv/

representative adjective: typical; having the same properties or interest as a larger group.

Adjective

representative (comparative more representative, superlative most representative)

Typical; having the same properties or interest as a larger group.
- THE POCKET ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF BRITISH STEAM LOCOMOTIVES. By O. S. Nock. Blandford Press. 18s.
  Mr. Nock, he remarks in his preface, was "incredulous" when the idea of this book of 192 colour gravure illustrations of a representative collection of British steam locomotives from Locomotion to BR's...1964 December, “New Books”, in Modern Railways, page 429
- If you took all the fools out of the legislature, it wouldn't be a representative body anymore.c. 1977, Carl Parker (attributed quote)
Representing, showing a likeness.
- Are you sure this paper is representative of your child's writing?
- the representative faculty of the human imagination

Noun

representative (plural representatives)

Someone who represents others as a member of a legislative or governing body.
- She served four terms as representative of her local at the national union convention.
- Each vessel in the Fleet has the right to send representatives to the Conclave aboard the flagship. The number of representatives is based on crew size. Larger clans, with bigger ships and more votes, form the cores of political blocs. Opposition comes from the Outriders' Coalition, with delegates...2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Quarians: Government Codex entry
One who speaks for or acts on behalf of another in a particular (especially official) capacity.
- I will send a representative to work out the details of the contract.
An heir.
- This pathetic remonstrance had the desired effect upon his representative, who spared no pains to fulfill the request of the deceased […].1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC
(US) Specifically, a member of the United States House of Representatives.
- All representatives face re-election every two years.
A company agent who visits potential purchasers; a salesman.

Synonyms:

minister
(UK) A worker at a holiday resort who escorts guests and leads activities.
Something representing or standing for another; a symbol, an embodiment.
- The furniture was the same when she married..[ ]..The only representatives of to-day, were two large and comfortable arm-chairs, and a few elegant-looking trifles, the work of the Misses Granard.1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “(please specify the page)”, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC...
- […] whereas a tiny group with no roots in the working class was entitled, so long as it professed the Marxist ideology, to declare itself the sole representative of the proletariat and the sole embodiment of proletarian consciousness.1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in...
A member of a particular class.
- The USS Manila Bay, in the next group south of Taffy 3, services aircraft from eleven different squadrons that aren't attached to her own flight group, and, at one point, has representatives from no less than four other carriers' airgroups on her flight deck at the same time.2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 28:07 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2022
Something (especially a living organism) regarded as typical of its class; a type.
A consistent choice of element from an equivalence class, used to identify it.
A substitute or analogue.

representative meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

representative in Hindi

one who speaks for another: प्रतिनिधि pratinidhi, नुमाइंदा numāindā

representative in Tamil

பிரதிநிதி பிரதானி, சார்ந்தாற்றுநர், சார்பீடர், சார்பாளர், சார்புகோளர், சார்பாண்மையர்

representative in Marathi

one who speaks for another: प्रतिनिधी pratinidhī
representative of a constituency: प्रतिनिधी pratinidhī

representative in Urdu

one who speaks for another: نُمائِنْدَہ numāinda, مَنْدُوب mandūb

More languagesFewer languages

representative in Bengali: প্রতিনিধি protinidhi
representative in Telugu: ప్రతినిధి pratinidhi
representative in Malayalam: പ്രതിനിധി pratinidhi
representative in Kannada: ಎತ್ತುಗೆ, ಮಾರಾಳು, ಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿ, ನಿದರ್ಶನ
representative in Punjabi: ਨੁਮਾਇੰਦਾ, ਪ੍ਰਤੀਨਿਧੀ
representative in Gujarati: પ્રતિનિધિ
representative in Odia: ପ୍ରତିନିଧି
representative in Nepali: प्रतिनिधि
representative in Pashto: نماينده namāyənda, وکيل wakīl
representative in Tagalog: kinatawan
representative in Arabic: مُمَثِّل mumaṯṯil, مُمَثِّلَة mumaṯṯila, وَكِيل wakīl, وَكِيلَة wakīla
representative in Malay: wakil
representative in Indonesian: wakil
representative in Persian: نُمایَنْدِه numâyande
representative in Thai: ตัวแทน dtuua-tɛɛn, สมาชิกสภาผู้แทนราษฎร sà-maa-chík-sà-paa-pûu-tɛɛn-râat-sà-dɔɔn
representative in Vietnamese: tiêu biểu, đại biểu
representative in Myanmar: ကိုယ်စားလှယ် kuiyca:hlai

Examples of representative in a sentence

There was no randomness in the teacher's selection of the class representative.
Anglo-Kirghiz mares, now better known as Novokirghiz, produce more milk than representatives of either separate lineage.
Indian agents actas a government representatives to communities of Native North Americans.

All 40 example sentences with representative

Synonyms of representative

minister
rep

Forms of representative

Adjective
comparative	more representative
superlative	most representative
Noun
plural	representatives

Plural of representative: representatives

Origin of representative

From Middle English representative, from Middle French representatif and its etymon Medieval Latin repraesentātīvus. By surface analysis, represent + -ative; See representation. Displaced native Old English spala (“a representative”).

Phrases with representative

Questions about representative

What does representative mean?: Representative means typical; having the same properties or interest as a larger group.
What is representative in Hindi?: Representative in Hindi is प्रतिनिधि (pratinidhi), नुमाइंदा (numāindā). See Representative meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is representative?: Representative can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce representative?: Representative is pronounced /ˌɹɛpɹɪˈzɛnt(ət)ɪv/.

Words near representative in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: representative (page history and authors); representative (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); representative (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); representative (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); representative (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); representative (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); representative (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-representative.ogg.

Cite this entry: “representative.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/representative. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.