unrepresentative

/ˌʌnˌreprɪˈzentətɪv/ (bre, ipa) · [ənrˌɛprɪzˈɛntətɪv] /ˌʌnˌreprɪˈzentətɪv/ (ame, ipa) · [ənrˌɛprɪzˈɛntətɪv] /ˌən-ˌre-pri-ˈzen-tə-tiv How to pronounce unrepresentative (audio)/ (ame, mw)

unrepresentative — adjective

  • unrepresentativepositive
  • more unrepresentativecomparative
  • most unrepresentativesuperlative

1. When a group, sample, or example is unrepresentative, it does not reflect the us

1.形容詞B2
釋義

When a group, sample, or example is unrepresentative, it does not reflect the usual range of qualities present in the larger whole it belongs to, and may therefore give a misleading impression.

例句

Dahlia felt the tour of two offices gave an unrepresentative picture of the company.

unrepresentative + picture + of + [noun phrase] — typical collocation pattern

The newspaper's data, from just one city, was unrepresentative of the country, as critics noted.

同義詞
  • atypical

    a more neutral, factual term that simply states something is not usual, without the judgement that the mismatch is misleading

  • uncharacteristic

    focuses on deviation from a single person or thing's normal pattern, rather than from a larger group's overall qualities

  • anomalous

    more technical or academic, suggesting a statistical or scientific abnormality that stands out from the expected pattern

反義詞
  • representative

    the direct opposite; describes something that does show the typical qualities of the larger group

  • typical

    simpler and more everyday; describes something that matches the usual pattern of a group or situation

文法句型

unrepresentative + of + [noun phrase]

用法筆記

Commonly modifies nouns such as 'sample', 'data', 'survey', 'picture', or 'group' to indicate the item does not reflect the full variety of the larger whole. Almost always followed by the preposition 'of'.

常見錯誤

The survey results are unrepresentative to the population.
The survey results are unrepresentative of the population.
💡'Unrepresentative' takes the preposition 'of', not 'to'.