1. The generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given time
   "he framed the problem within the psychoanalytic paradigm"
    
2. A standard, typical or perfect example
   "he is the paradigm of good breeding";
   - prototype, epitome, image
    
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)
   "Adjectives form a paradigm in the sentence 'The ___ cat sat on the mat'";
   - substitution class
    
4. Systematic arrangement of all the inflected forms of a word
   "The paradigm of the verb 'to sing' includes 'sing', 'sang', 'sung', 'singing'"

Derived forms: paradigms

Type of: category, class, example, family, inflection, inflexion [Brit], model, perspective, position, view

Encyclopedia: Paradigm