representational
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to representation.
-
representing or depicting an object in a recognizable manner.
representational art.
adjective
-
fine arts depicting or attempting to depict objects, scenes, figures, etc, directly as seen; naturalistic
-
of or relating to representation
Other Word Forms
- unrepresentational adjective
Etymology
Origin of representational
First recorded in 1850–55; representation + -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Kahn’s most representational works are his least interesting; it’s in the careful dissection of his elements and the revelation of what we’re looking at that the most joy is found.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
Certainly, this representational role is a dimension of the presidency with which he has seemed at ease.
From BBC • Oct. 9, 2024
He tried to use Euler’s circles to illustrate Boole’s algebra of truth-values, but Euler’s representational system would not quite do the trick.
From Salon • Jul. 29, 2024
This is where making the series about Muslim women rockers accomplishes more than representational box-ticking: It makes an old story new and nuanced.
From New York Times • May 29, 2024
“You’re not going to go into the merits of representational currency, are you?”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
![]()
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.