Exemplar
adj, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Something fit to be imitated; an ideal, a worthy model or role model: a desirable example.
"A ray of light amid all this nonsense was Gwyn Topham's piece in the Guardian, which was timely, measured, accurate and of appropriate tone. That this single report stood out so clearly as an exemplar is a scathing comment in itself on the volumes of drivel surrounding it."
- 2 something to be imitated wordnet
- 3 Something typical or representative; an example that typifies its class.
- 4 A pattern after which others should be made; an archetype.
- 5 A well-known use of a scientific theory.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A manuscript used by a scribe to make a handwritten copy; the original document to be reproduced in a copy machine.
- 7 A copy of a book or piece of writing.
"To amend the same [default] according to the true exemplars."
- 1 Exemplary. obsolete
"In our age we have no patterne of motherly affection more exemplare, than yours."
Example
More examples"Translation is the paradigm, the exemplar of all writing. It is translation that demonstrates most vividly the yearning for transformation that underlies every act involving speech, that supremely human gift."
Etymology
From Latin exemplar, from Latin exemplum (“example”). Doublet of exemplary.
From French exemplaire, and its source, Latin exemplāris. By surface analysis, example + -ar.
Related phrases
More for "exemplar"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.