Dictionary
rep•re•sent•a•tive
Pronunciation: (rep"ri-zen'tu-tiv), [key]—
n.
1. a person or thing that represents another or others.
2. an agent or deputy:
a legal representative.
3. a person who represents a constituency or community in a legislative body, esp. a member of the U.S. House of Representatives or a lower house in certain state legislatures.
4. a typical example or specimen of a group, quality, or kind.
—
adj.
1. serving to represent; representing.
2. standing or acting for another or others.
3. made up of representatives:
a representative assembly.
4. of or pertaining to a system of governance by chosen representatives, usually elected from among a large group:
representative government.
5. exemplifying a group or kind; typical:
a representative selection of Elizabethan plays.
6. corresponding to or replacing some other species or the like, as in a different locality.
7. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of representationalism.
8. pertaining to or of the nature of a mental image or representation.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
