# representation

Pronunciation: say "rep-ruh-zen-TAY-shuhn" /ˌɹɛp.ɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/

## Noun

1. Something that stands for, symbolizes, or stands in place of another thing.
   - Simple: Something that stands for or stands in place of another thing.
   - _A flag serves as a representation of the nation it stands for._
   - _Each diagram in the textbook is a representation of an invisible process._
2. The action of standing for, symbolizing, or depicting something else.
   - Simple: The act of standing for or showing something else.
   - _The representation of three dimensions on a flat canvas requires careful technique._
   - _Language is one tool for the representation of abstract thought._
3. A figure, image, or idea that stands in for reality.
   - Simple: A picture, shape, or idea used in place of the real thing.
   - _The cave painting is an early representation of the animals people hunted._
   - _Her dream offered a strange representation of fears she could not name._
4. The power to elect someone to speak on your behalf in government, and the role that elected person plays there.
   - Simple: The right to choose someone to speak for you in the government.
   - _The colonists demanded representation before agreeing to pay the new taxes._
   - _Rural districts often argue that their representation in the legislature is too small._
5. The presence of a particular demographic group in media, especially regarding how those appearances are portrayed.
   - Simple: How often a group of people appears in movies or shows, and how they are shown.
   - _Critics noted the film's thoughtful representation of working-class life._
   - _The studio faced pressure to improve representation behind the camera as well as on it._
6. The lawyers and staff who argue on someone's behalf in court.
   - Simple: The lawyers who speak for you in court.
   - _The defendant appeared in court without representation._
   - _Strong legal representation can change the outcome of a complex case._
7. A statement or expression of opinion or position, especially one intended to influence the views or actions of others.
   - Simple: A statement of what you think, made to change what others believe or do.
   - _The residents' association made strong representations to the planning board._
   - _His written representation to the committee laid out every objection in detail._
8. A performance of a play, opera, or similar work before an audience.
   - Simple: A show performed for an audience on a stage.
   - _The theater's final representation of the tragedy ran past midnight._
   - _Audiences wept during the closing representation of the season._
9. A realization of an algebraic structure, such as a group or Lie algebra, as linear transformations acting on a vector space.
   - Simple: In math, a way of making each member of a group, or similar system, act on a space in a straight-line way.
   - _Every finite group has a faithful representation on a complex vector space._
   - _The adjoint representation of a Lie algebra acts on the algebra itself._
10. In medicine, an act of presenting again: a patient coming back to a doctor or hospital for care after an earlier visit. (pronounced: say "ree-pruh-zen-TAY-shuhn" US /ˌɹi.pɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/, UK /ˌɹiː.pɹə.zɛnˈteɪ.ʃən/)
   - Simple: In medicine, a time when a patient comes back to a doctor or hospital again.
   - _The nurse recorded the patient's representation with chest pain the following day._
   - _Follow-up phone calls cut representations to the hospital within a week of discharge._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–9** — It came into Late Middle English as "representacioun," from Old French "representacion," from Latin "repraesentātiō." By surface analysis it is "represent" plus "-ation."
**Meaning 10** — It was formed from the prefix "re-" combined with "presentation."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/representation (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).