paradigm meaning and definition

PARADIGM noun

Definition of paradigm (noun)

1. systematic arrangement of all the inflected forms of a word
2. a standard or typical example
   • "he is the prototype of good breeding"; "he provided America with an image of the good father"
   • synonyms: epitome, image, prototype
3. the class of all items that can be substituted into the same position (or slot) in a grammatical sentence (are in paradigmatic relation with one another)
   • synonyms: substitution class
4. the generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given time
   • "he framed the problem within the psychoanalytic paradigm"