model

1. noun

1)

a working model

Syn:

replica, copy, representation, mock-up, dummy, imitation, duplicate, reproduction, facsimile

2)

the Canadian model of health care

Syn:

prototype, stereotype, archetype, type, version; mold, template, framework, pattern, design, blueprint

3)

she was a model of patience

Syn:

ideal, paragon, perfect example/specimen; perfection, acme, epitome, nonpareil, crème de la crème

4)

a runway model

Syn:

fashion model, supermodel, mannequin

5)

an artist's model

Syn:

subject, poser, sitter

6)

the latest model of car

Syn:

version, type, design, variety, kind, sort

2. adjective

1)

model trains

Syn:

replica, toy, miniature, dummy, imitation, duplicate, reproduction, facsimile

2)

model farms

Syn:

prototypical, prototypal, archetypal

3)

a model teacher

Syn:

ideal, perfect, exemplary, classic, flawless, faultless

••

model, archetype, example, ideal, paradigm, pattern, prototype

Most parents try to set a good example for their children, although they may end up setting a bad one. An example, in other words, is a precedent for imitation, either good or bad. Most parents would do better to provide a model for their children, which refers to a person or thing that is to be followed or imitated because of its excellence in conduct or character. Model also connotes a physical shape to be copied closely (a ship's model, a model airplane). Not all children regard their parents as an ideal to which they aspire, a word that suggests an imagined perfection or a standard based upon a set of desirable qualities (the ideal gentleman; the ideal of what an artist should be); but young people's lives often end up following the pattern established by their parents, meaning that their lives follow the same basic configuration or design. While prototype and archetype are often used interchangeably, they really mean quite different things. An archetype is a perfect and unchanging form that existing things or people can approach but never duplicate (the archetype of a mother), while a prototype is an early, usually unrefined version of something that later versions reflect but may depart from (a prototype for a hydrogen-fueled car). Paradigm can refer to an example that serves as a model, but today its use is primarily confined to a grammatical context, where it means a set giving all the various forms of a word, such as the conjugation of a verb.