Origin: Latin suffix -ive
Representative has 10 different meanings across 2 categories:
a person who represents others
"The committee elected a senior member to serve as their representative at the city council meeting."
an advocate who represents someone else's policy or purpose
"the meeting was attended by spokespersons for all the major organs of government"
a member of the United States House of Representatives
"The new bill will be debated by our representative from Ohio in Washington next month."
an item of information that is typical of a class or group
"this patient provides a typical example of the syndrome"
"there is an example on page 10"
A delegate.
"The local representative spoke on behalf of her constituents at the town hall meeting."
Someone who represents others as a member of a legislative or governing body.
"The senator voted against the new tax bill, and her constituents immediately wrote to ask why their representative made that choice."
In plain English: A representative is someone chosen to speak for and make decisions on behalf of a larger group of people.
"The company representative arrived to discuss our contract renewal."
serving to represent or typify
"representative moviegoers"
"a representative modern play"
being or characteristic of government by representation in which citizens exercise power through elected officers and representatives
"representative government as defined by Abraham Lincoln is government of the people, by the people, for the people"
Typical; having the same properties or interest as a larger group.
"The small sample of survey responses proved representative, accurately reflecting the opinions of the entire city's voters."
In plain English: Representative means something that stands for or shows the general opinion of a larger group.
"The representative sample accurately reflected the opinions of the entire population."
Usage: Use this adjective to describe something that accurately reflects the characteristics of an entire population, such as saying a sample is representative of voters. Avoid confusing it with the noun form when you specifically need to indicate typicality rather than someone acting on behalf of others.
The word entered English via the Middle French representatif and Medieval Latin repraesentātīvus. It was originally formed to mean "of or relating to a representative," following the pattern of adding the suffix -ative to the root for representation.