A physical exam may be a prerequisite for receiving a life-insurance policy. As every college student knows, successful completion of an introductory course is often a prerequisite for enrollment in an intermediate-level course. A very clear or typical example showing how something is to be done. American corporate executives have been forced to ask if Japanese-run companies present a useful paradigm of successful business management. Still, it has its uses.
Paradigm can also be very close in meaning to paragon, discussed below.
A person or thing with qualities that seem to be opposites. They had to face the paradox that their family, which was the source of so much love and affection, could also be the source of great hurt and anger. No one has yet solved the paradox that an infinitely large universe and a universe that ends somewhere are equally unimaginable. A model of excellence or perfection. Mother Teresa has often been described as a paragon of saintliness and compassion.