1
as in imitation
using or marked by the use of something else as a basis or model
your writing style tends to be imitative of whichever author you've recently read
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2
as in synthetic
being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials
an imitative extract never has the flavor of the real thing
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Recent Examples of imitative
Conversations in dorm rooms and lecture halls consist of roughly 97% university-loathing and imitative protests to fire coaches and athletic directors.
—
Noah White, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
Third-party imitative learning from an immigrating parrot’s flockmates may facilitate overall group integration and social bonding and may even give rise to cultural conventions of coordinated movements or gestures.
—Grrlscientist, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
In Roeck’s picture, competitive, rather than imitative, habits of mind rose from religious warfare, establishing a cutthroat system of cultural and economic innovation which lasts to this day.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
Nautilus is bold in its changes to Captain Nemo’s story — new monsters, new villains — but imitative to other genre series in execution, and the vibe is a little didactic.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for imitative
Noah White, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
Third-party imitative learning from an immigrating parrot’s flockmates may facilitate overall group integration and social bonding and may even give rise to cultural conventions of coordinated movements or gestures.
—Grrlscientist, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
In Roeck’s picture, competitive, rather than imitative, habits of mind rose from religious warfare, establishing a cutthroat system of cultural and economic innovation which lasts to this day.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
Nautilus is bold in its changes to Captain Nemo’s story — new monsters, new villains — but imitative to other genre series in execution, and the vibe is a little didactic.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for imitative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imitative
Adjective
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Surf Sweets offers gummy worms and bears without synthetic colors.—
Allison Palmer,
Kansas City Star,
30 Mar. 2026
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Textile Exchange said these finding support its pathways to preferred production systems, which aim to eliminate or reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers in alignment with organic and regenerative production practices.—
Jennifer Bringle,
Sourcing Journal,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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One of the most delightful examples of mimetic architecture along Route 66, this West Hollywood gem does exactly what the structure suggests: serves mouthwatering hot dogs.—
Zoey Goto,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
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This image oscillates between mimetic naturalism and the geometry of the digital design process.—
Thomas Demand,
Artforum,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Whatever your opinion, Theroux has an impressive back catalogue of documentaries worth watching, each one tackling a thorny topic with his signature faux naivety and awkward charm.—
Irenie Forshaw,
TheWeek,
25 Mar. 2026
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Just like the old days, the (faux films) in Retro Rewind roll out weekly.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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For the test, the radar tracked targets during two separate events, leading to simulated target engagements.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Mar. 2026
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The college has built out a simulation classroom setup, where students are trained on a simulated air traffic control tower that can be manipulated by their educators.—
Dillon Thomas,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Typically in times of geopolitical turmoil, analysts look to the past for precedents and templates, but history is idiosyncratic, not formulaic.—
Paul Swartz,
Harvard Business Review,
20 Mar. 2026
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Of course, formulaic crime dramas can be comforting.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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And Hammond is roughly the same distance from downtown Chicago as Arlington Heights; whichever direction the team moves, leaving windswept Soldier Field for the artificial environment of a dome means abandoning some of the proud misery that defines Bears football.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
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An important aspect is the achievement of physiological pressure levels since the artificial placenta has to present a low resistance, a few tens of mmHg, similar to the natural placenta (typically below 70 mmHg·min·L^–1).—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Chiefs beat writers Pete Sweeney and Blair Kerkhoff convened in The Star’s (mock) draft room to come up with choices for all nine picks.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
24 Mar. 2026
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The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant revealed her WNBA mock draft Friday.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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While people sometimes express this view in jest, others believe the fake environment borders on a cultural abomination.—
Adam Kadlac,
The Conversation,
27 Mar. 2026
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With the Heat’s social media team posting a video of the dunks, Jakucionis joked that the video is fake.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
Video
A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia
Some imitative words are more surprising than others
Cite this Entry
“Imitative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imitative. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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