imitate

verb im·i·tate \ ˈi-mə-ˌtāt \

Definition of imitate

imitated; imitating

transitive verb

1 :to follow as a pattern, model, or example

2 :to be or appear like :resemble

3 :to produce a copy of :reproduce

4 :mimic, counterfeit

can imitate his father's booming voice

—

imitator

play \ˈi-mə-ˌtā-tər\ noun

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Examples of imitate in a Sentence

Her style has been imitated by many other writers.
He's very good at imitating his father's voice.
She can imitate the calls of many different birds.

Recent Examples of imitate from the Web

Such was the case of life imitating art for icocomedy duo Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin.

— maria carter, Country Living, "Inside the 20-Year Feud of Legendary Comedy Duo Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin," 22 Aug. 2017
But during the recent outpouring of support for Take My Wife, one fan said she was inspired to finally chop off her hair in a stylish crop, imitating Butcher’s unmistakable look.

— joanna robinson, vanityfair.com, "It’s Not Too Late to Save One of TV’s Most Urgently Important Shows," 16 Aug. 2017
But during the recent outpouring of support for Take My Wife, one fan said she was inspired to finally chop off her hair in a stylish crop, imitating Butcher’s unmistakable look.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "It’s Not Too Late to Save One of TV’s Most Urgently Important Shows," 16 Aug. 2017
His teammates appreciate his uncanny ability to imitate coach Jason Garrett.

— drew davison, star-telegram, "Cooper Rush impresses on down night for Cowboys QBs," 13 Aug. 2017
Elizabeth Holmes promoted Theranos in part by imitating the personal and management styles of previous Silicon Valley wunderkinds—right down to wearing the same kind of plain black turtleneck long associated with Steve Jobs.

— brooke harrington, The Atlantic, "Why Americans Get Conned Again and Again," 31 July 2017
Recent studies show that software which imitates the responsive role of a tutor rather than just cranking out questions and answers can indeed accelerate children’s learning.

— The Economist, "EdtechTechnology is transforming what happens when a child goes to school," 22 July 2017
The performers evoke their famous characters without actually trying to imitate them — a wise choice ... there can be only one Elvis.

— robert w. butler, kansascity, "Great balls of fire — New Theatre’s ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ strums along splendidly," 14 July 2017
Researchers studying ancient Roman concrete suggest the material could be imitated with modern resources to build seawalls around cities at risk of flooding from the ocean.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "The Ancient Romans' Concrete Recipe Could Help Us Beat Back Rising Seas," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'imitate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of imitate

Latin imitatus, past participle of imitari — more at image

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First Known Use: 1534

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imitate Synonyms

Synonyms

ape, copy, copycat, emulate, mime, mimic

Antonyms

originate

Related Words

ditto, echo, reecho, repeat; burlesque, caricature, lampoon, mock, parody, travesty; impersonate, perform, play; pantomime

Near Antonyms

create, imagine, initiate, invent

Synonym Discussion of imitate

copy, imitate, mimic, ape, mock mean to make something so that it resembles an existing thing. copy suggests duplicating an original as nearly as possible.