Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Represent \Rep`re*sent"\ (r?p`r?-z?nt"), v. t. [F. repr?senter,
   L. repraesentare, repraesentatum; pref. re- re- + preesentare
   to place before, present. See {Present}, v. t.]
   1. To present again or anew; to present by means of something
      standing in the place of; to exhibit the counterpart or
      image of; to typify.

            Before him burn Seven lamps, as in a zodiac
            representing The heavenly fires.      --Milton.

   2. To portray by pictoral or plastic art; to delineate; as,
      to represent a landscape in a picture, a horse in bronze,
      and the like.

   3. To portray by mimicry or action of any kind; to act the
      part or character of; to personate; as, to represent
      Hamlet.

   4. To stand in the place of; to supply the place, perform the
      duties, exercise the rights, or receive the share, of; to
      speak and act with authority in behalf of; to act the part
      of (another); as, an heir represents his ancestor; an
      attorney represents his client in court; a member of
      Congress represents his district in Congress.

   5. To exhibit to another mind in language; to show; to give
      one's own impressions and judgement of; to bring before
      the mind; to set forth; sometimes, to give an account of;
      to describe.

            He represented Rizzio's credit with the queen to be
            the chief and only obstacle to his success in that
            demand.                               --Robertson.

            This bank is thought the greatest load on the
            Genoese, and the managers of it have been
            represented as a second kind of senate. --Addison.

   6. To serve as a sign or symbol of; as, mathematical symbols
      represent quantities or relations; words represent ideas
      or things.

   7. To bring a sensation of into the mind or sensorium; to
      cause to be known, felt, or apprehended; to present.

            Among these. Fancy next Her office holds; of all
            external things Which he five watchful senses
            represent, She forms imaginations, aery shapes.
                                                  --Milton.

   8. (Metaph.) To form or image again in consciousness, as an
      object of cognition or apprehension (something which was
      originally apprehended by direct presentation). See
      {Presentative}, 3.

            The general capability of knowledge necessarily
            requires that, besides the power of evoking out of
            unconsciousness one portion of our retained
            knowledge in preference to another, we posses the
            faculty of representing in consciousness what is
            thus evoked . . . This representative Faculty is
            Imagination or Phantasy.              --Sir. W.
                                                  Hamilton.

Source : WordNet®

represent
     v 1: take the place of or be parallel or equivalent to; "Because
          of the sound changes in the course of history, an 'h' in
          Greek stands for an 's' in Latin" [syn: {stand for}, {correspond}]
     2: express indirectly by an image, form, or model; be a symbol;
        "What does the Statue of Liberty symbolize?" [syn: {typify},
         {symbolize}, {symbolise}, {stand for}]
     3: be representative or typical for; "This period is
        represented by Beethoven"
     4: be a delegate or spokesperson for; represent somebody's
        interest or be a proxy or substitute for, as of
        politicians and office holders representing their
        constituents, or of a tenant representing other tenants in
        a housing dispute; "I represent the silent majority";
        "This actor is a spokesperson for the National Rifle
        Association"
     5: serve as a means of expressing something; "The flower
        represents a young girl"
     6: be characteristic of; "This compositional style is
        exemplified by this fugue" [syn: {exemplify}]
     7: form or compose; "This money is my only income"; "The stone
        wall was the backdrop for the performance"; "These
        constitute my entire belonging"; "The children made up the
        chorus"; "This sum represents my entire income for a
        year"; "These few men comprise his entire army" [syn: {constitute},
         {make up}, {comprise}, {be}]
     8: be the defense counsel for someone in a trial; "Ms. Smith
        will represent the defendant" [syn: {defend}] [ant: {prosecute}]
     9: create an image or likeness of; "The painter represented his
        wife as a young girl" [syn: {interpret}]
     10: play a role or part; "Gielgud played Hamlet"; "She wants to
         act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role";
         "She played the servant to her husband's master" [syn: {act},
          {play}]
     11: perform (a play), especially on a stage; "we are going to
         stage `Othello'" [syn: {stage}, {present}]
     12: describe or present, usually with respect to a particular
         quality; "He represented this book as an example of the
         Russian 19th century novel"
     13: point out or draw attention to in protest or remonstrance;
         "our parents represented to us the need for more caution"
     14: bring forward and present to the mind; "We presented the
         arguments to him"; "We cannot represent this knowledge to
         our formal reason" [syn: {present}, {lay out}]
     15: to establish a mapping (of mathematical elements or sets)
         [syn: {map}]