im·i·ta·tion
ˌi-mə-ˈtā-shən 
1
: an act or instance of imitating
Children learn by imitation of adults.
He did a hilarious imitation of his father.
2
: something produced as a copy : counterfeit
a cheap/poor imitation
an imitation of mid-century architecture
3
: a literary work designed to reproduce the style of another author
4
: the repetition by one voice of a melody, phrase, or motive stated earlier in the composition by a different voice
5
philosophy
: the quality of an object in possessing some of the nature or attributes of a transcendent idea
6
psychology
: the conscious or unconscious assumption of behavior observed in other individuals
: resembling something else that is usually genuine and of better quality : not real
imitation leather
Examples of imitation in a Sentence
Noun
Children learn by imitation of adults.
The restaurant was designed in imitation of a Japanese temple.
He did a hilarious imitation of his father.
The real diamonds are in a museum. These are just imitations.
Adjective
the stage production uses only imitation diamonds, as real gems would be prohibitively expensive
Recent Examples on the Web
Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 3 Dec. 2025
To solve that, the team used imitation learning to train a lightweight deep-learning model capable of executing that planning nearly instantaneously.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Dec. 2025
The system can plan, dissect problems, and reason using internal logic rather than imitation.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 28 Nov. 2025
The estate of Johnny Cash has filed a federal lawsuit against the Coca-Cola Company, alleging that the beverage maker used an unauthorized imitation of the late singer’s voice in a national advertising campaign for the 2025 NCAA college football season.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for imitation
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Noun
In a global world of imitations and synthetics, fast fashion needs to take a seat on the back burner, and the fashion industry needs to return to the spotlight the use of natural materials that have worked from the dawn of time.
—Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 3 Dec. 2025
To solve that, the team used imitation learning to train a lightweight deep-learning model capable of executing that planning nearly instantaneously.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Dec. 2025
The system can plan, dissect problems, and reason using internal logic rather than imitation.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 28 Nov. 2025
The estate of Johnny Cash has filed a federal lawsuit against the Coca-Cola Company, alleging that the beverage maker used an unauthorized imitation of the late singer’s voice in a national advertising campaign for the 2025 NCAA college football season.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for imitation
Cite this Entry
“Imitation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imitation. Accessed 5 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
imitation
1 of 2 noun
im·i·ta·tion
ˌim-ə-ˈtā-shən
1
: an act of imitating
2
: something produced as a copy
imitation
2 of 2 adjective
: resembling something else especially of better quality
imitation pearls
imitation leather
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