representative

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˌɹɛpɹɪˈzɛnt(ət)ɪv/ See IPA manual

Freq #6033

Meanings

1

noun
A person chosen to act or speak for others.

A sales representative will call you back today.
2

adj
Typical of a larger group; having the same qualities as others in it.

The survey used a representative sample of voters.
3

adj
Standing for or symbolizing something else.

The bald eagle is representative of the United States.
4

adj
Relating to a system of government in which people vote for officials to act for them.

They campaigned for a more representative government.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

rep

Word family

Forms representatives

Derived forms biorepresentativemisrepresentativenonrepresentativeoverrepresentativerepresentativelyrepresentativenessrepresentativeshiprepresentativityunrepresentative

Related forms represent

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

representative government
a system in which elected people make decisions on behalf of the population

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English representative, from Middle French representatif and its etymon Medieval Latin repraesentātīvus. By surface analysis, represent + -ative; See representation.

representative Middle English representatif Middle French repraesentātīvus la-med

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# representative

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌɹɛpɹɪˈzɛnt(ət)ɪv/
**Frequency rank:** 6033

## Meanings
1. A person chosen to act or speak for others.
2. Typical of a larger group; having the same qualities as others in it.
3. Standing for or symbolizing something else.
4. Relating to a system of government in which people vote for officials to act for them.

## Examples
- A sales representative will call you back today.
- The survey used a representative sample of voters.
- The bald eagle is representative of the United States.
- They campaigned for a more representative government.

## Synonyms
- rep

## Derived Forms
- biorepresentative
- misrepresentative
- nonrepresentative
- overrepresentative
- representatively
- representativeness
- representativeship
- representativity
- unrepresentative

## Related Forms
- represent

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: representative
- Root: representatif
- Root: repraesentātīvus

## Etymology
From Middle English representative, from Middle French representatif and its etymon Medieval Latin repraesentātīvus. By surface analysis, represent + -ative; See representation.

## AI Etymology
Representative comes from Middle English representative, from Middle French representatif and its etymon Medieval Latin repraesentātīvus. By surface analysis, represent + -ative; See representation. Modern senses include a person chosen to act or speak for others. and typical of a larger group; having the same qualities as others in it.. The wider word family includes derivatives such as biorepresentative, misrepresentative, nonrepresentative, overrepresentative, representatively, and representativeness and related forms such as represent.

## Topics
- People & Society

markdown