imitate

verb im·i·tate \ ˈi-mə-ˌtāt \

|Updated on: 8 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: imitate in a Sentence

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

See imitate defined for English-language learners

See imitate defined for kids

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

The patty is flavorful and does a pretty good job imitating beef (albeit of the dry, school-lunch variety).

— zoe sayler, The Seattle Times, "Seattle’s veggie burgers: Eating your vegetables never tasted this good," 3 July 2018
The Templars have also been widely revived and imitated for purposes both benign and sinister since at least 1737, when the Scottish Freemason Andrew Michael Ramsey wrote a pseudo-history of Masonry that claimed ties to the medieval Templars.

— kristina krug, Smithsonian, "Meet the Americans Following in the Footsteps of the Knights Templar," 28 June 2018
In the book, a picture scrawled in blood leads paramedic Noah McKeen to search for a killer imitating the infamous Jack the Ripper.

— carole goldberg, courant.com, "Storytelling Champ Matthew Dicks At RJ Julia, Psychotherapist Talks Women's Friendships," 20 June 2018
One of the most unexpected moments of the night came with a drag runway featuring contestants on past seasons of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, where some queens imitated Christina Aguilera’s past looks.

— steven j. horowitz, Billboard, "Kehlani, Tove Lo and Kim Petras Triumph at Pride LA 2018," 11 June 2018
Forever 21 has imitated everything from a phone case made by an LA indie brand to a popular feminist tee to Instagram-famous swimwear to a coat from a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist — and these are just examples from 2017.

— chavie lieber, Vox, "Fashion brands steal design ideas all the time. And it’s completely legal.," 27 Apr. 2018
At churches such as St. Peter Catholic in uptown Charlotte, priests and lay servers imitated Christ by washing parishioners' feet and dispensing the Eucharist.

— tim funk, charlotteobserver, "A holy weekend for 2 faiths begins with Christian commemoration of Jesus' Last Supper | Charlotte Observer," 29 Mar. 2018
That series involves a Cleveland ice-cream truck driver who stumbles into an ancient cave and acquires superpowers by imitating an absurdly specific pose.

— patrick cooley, cleveland.com, "Cleveland's Ted Sikora ready to debut new comic-book series, 'Tap Dance Killer'," 31 Jan. 2018
From: Direct Link: Embed Code: Restart A new Japanese invention could end the Salt Wars once and for all by imitating the instantly recognizable flavor of the most ubiquitous seasoning in the world.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Electric Fork Can Make You Taste Salt Where There Is None," 14 Apr. 2016

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

borrowed from Latin imitātus, past participle of imitārī "to follow as a pattern, copy," frequentative derivative of a presumed verb *imā- "make a copy," perhaps going back to Indo-European *h₂im-, whence also Hittite hima-, himma- "substitute, replica, toy"

Note: Aside from Hittite, evidence for an etymon *h₂im- is lacking. See also etymology and note at emulous.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1534

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

imitate Synonyms

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.