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Definition of representative adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

representative

adjective
 
/ˌreprɪˈzentətɪv/
 
/ˌreprɪˈzentətɪv/
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  1. representative (of somebody/something) typical of a particular group of people; that is a typical example of something
    • Is a questionnaire answered by 500 people truly representative of the population as a whole?
    • The paper-thin models in magazines are not representative of most women.
    • Some residents argued that the protesters were not representative of the community.
    • The painting is not representative of his work of the period.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • seem
    • consider somebody/​something
    adverb
    • highly
    • very
    • fully
    preposition
    • of
    See full entry
  2. [usually before noun] containing or including examples of all the different types of people or things in a large group
    • We interviewed a representative sample of teachers.
    • Exhibits include a widely representative collection of Greek vases.
    Extra Examples
    • a broadly representative sample
    • a nationally representative picture of the employment situation
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • seem
    • consider somebody/​something
    adverb
    • highly
    • very
    • fully
    preposition
    • of
    See full entry
  3. (of a system of government, etc.) consisting of people who have been chosen to speak or vote for the rest of a group
    • a representative democracy
    • the advent of modern representative government
    Topics Politicsc1
  4. opposite unrepresentative
    Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French representatif, -ive or medieval Latin repraesentativus, from the verb repraesentare ‘exhibit’, from re- (expressing intensive force) + praesentare ‘to present’.
See representative in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee representative in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
previously
adverb
 
 
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