representative
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
Someone who speaks for or acts on behalf of another in a particular capacity.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rehpruhzehntuhtivSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹɛpɹəˈzɛntətɪv
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A person who represents others
Someone who represents others as a member of a legislative or governing body.
An advocate who represents someone else's policy or purpose
One who speaks for or acts on behalf of another in a particular (especially official) capacity.
Something representing or standing for another; a symbol, an embodiment.
Something standing for something else.
adjective
Representing, showing a likeness.
Typical; having the same properties or interest as a larger group.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A person who represents others
Used this way, representative is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use representative
- “The bald eagle is representative of the United States.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The population is divided into strata and a random sample is taken from each stratum.
The population is divided into subpopulations (strata) and random samples are taken of each stratum.
The lower legislative house of the United States Congress.
A personal representative with legal standing (as by power of attorney or the executor of a will).
A person who manages the affairs of another.
Someone in charge of a client's account for an advertising agency or brokerage or other service business.
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Synonyms
Antonyms
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.