Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Not typical or characteristic of a larger group: Describes something that does not accurately reflect the qualities, features, or opinions of the whole class, category, or population it is supposed to represent.
   • Not serving as a fair or accurate example: Indicates that a sample, instance, or case is an exception and should not be used to make generalizations about the broader group.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The small survey was unrepresentative of the city's diverse population.
  • That single angry customer's opinion is unrepresentative of our usual client feedback.
  • The data from that one day is unrepresentative of the annual trend.

Advanced Usage

• "to be unrepresentative of": This is the standard collocation used to specify the group that is not being accurately represented.
  • The selected focus group was unrepresentative of the target demographic.
• "grossly/unfairly unrepresentative": Using adverbs to emphasize the degree to which something fails to represent a group.
  • The media portrayal was grossly unrepresentative of the community's actual achievements.

Variants and Related Words

• Unrepresentativeness (noun): The quality or state of being unrepresentative.
  • The unrepresentativeness of the sample invalidated the study's conclusions.
• Representative (adjective): The direct antonym, meaning typical of a class or group.
  • We need a representative sample for the poll to be valid.

Synonyms

• Atypical: Not representative of a type, group, or class.
• Non-typical: Not conforming to the usual type or pattern.
• Aberrant: Departing from an accepted standard or norm.

Antonyms

• Representative: Serving as a typical or characteristic example.
• Typical: Having the distinctive qualities of a particular type.
• Characteristic: Typical of a particular person, place, or thing.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• "The exception that proves the rule": This idiom is conceptually related, as an unrepresentative case is often an exception to a general rule.
  • His calm reaction was so unrepresentative; it was the exception that proved the rule of his usual temper.

Adjective

1. not exemplifying a class
   • I soon tumbled to the fact that my weekends were atypical
   • behavior quite unrepresentative (or atypical) of the profession