1
as in to emulate
to use (someone or something) as the model for one's speech, mannerisms, or behavior
teenage musicians who imitate whichever rock stars are hot
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Relevance
2
as in to parody
to copy or exaggerate (someone or something) in order to make fun of
imitating someone's stutter and laughing at them is a cruel thing to do
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to reproduce
to make an exact likeness of
a second-rate artist who was notorious for imitating the works of other painters
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of imitate
The people who are imitating Walter Cronkite don’t have his ethic.
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David Frum, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2025
Louvre robbery Heists are usually seen only in films, but sometimes, life imitates art.
—Will Barker, TheWeek, 30 Dec. 2025
Want to imitate only Bardot’s best qualities by enriching your makeup and hair care collection with modern-day beauty bestsellers that the French icon would very likely approve of?
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 29 Dec. 2025
The project starts to unravel when life imitates art and a real anaconda begins hunting them down.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 28 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for imitate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imitate
Verb
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Snag it in black to emulate Aniston or choose from four other versatile colors including burgundy and heather gray.—
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Because if Philly can emulate any of its offensive firepower from a season ago, its defense is absolutely still a championship-caliber one.—
Verb
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The scene came in a fictional segment parodying Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead in which Maggie defends her architectural talents after her daycare teacher punishes her for making beautiful structures from building blocks.—
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Grande, who has been featured as a musical guest twice (once as part of her double-duty in 2016), sang, parodied and disappeared into characters all through the night, flexing her skillset as a host who’s game to try on costumes no matter how ridiculous, impressions no matter how far-fetched.—
Verb
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Whitman traces how this legal foundation evolved into a broader moral menace that became a durable template in Western capitalism that was repeatedly reproduced.—
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Sadly for Jeep, its dealers couldn’t reproduce that magic in 2025 despite consolidating the two into a single model.—
Verb
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This, however, poses a major problem in other fields, as the data cannot be copied without corrupting it.—
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Court decisions, state laws and licensing contracts are other sources of protection against a team’s name and logo being copied without consent.—
Verb
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Many users on social media mocked the team for the design.—
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When hackers reveal his identity and expose it to the public, he is ridiculed, mocked, and threatened.—
Verb
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Mpro, an enzyme that allows SARS-CoV-2 to replicate in host cells, holds structural similarities.—
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Such observations can be replicated in the lab.—
Verb
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An onboard synthesizer manipulates a small set of core sounds to mimic everything from the roar of a jet plane to the flushing of a toilet through a little speaker in the Brick.—
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The brand also offers its own line of long-lasting polish that, when paired with its Magic Finish Top Coat, mimics the appearance and wearability of gel polish without having to use a UV lamp.—
Verb
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By the end of this eerily melodic, strangely beautiful song about doing nothing, Tyler dreams wistfully of loitering in a parking lot.—
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That’s one of the most beautiful things about doing the play right now, that there are so many people coming who have never been to a play before, especially young people.—
Cite this Entry
“Imitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imitate. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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