mirror image

noun

1

a

: something that has its parts reversely arranged in comparison with another similar thing or that is reversed with reference to an intervening axis or plane

b

: the direct opposite

2

: image sense 4

Synonyms of mirror image

• image
• twin
• replica
• picture
• clone
• portrait
• duplicate

Examples of mirror image in a Sentence

The left side of the building is a mirror image of the right.

looking at the idealistic intern, the elderly physician could not help but see the mirror image of himself 40 years earlier

Recent Examples on the Web

That probably hasn’t got a lot to do with the shirt design, which, despite being a mirror image of the home shirt — red with white patterns on the sleeves, as opposed to white with red patterns on the sleeves — somehow feels much more plain. —Nick Miller, New York Times, 10 June 2026

Behind the black shades, the 22-year-old looked like a mirror image of her mom, channeling Paltrow's signature nonchalant pose. —Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 5 June 2026

Modern China presents a kind of mirror image to post-WWI France. —Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 19 May 2026

Also, the two opposing narratives were mirror images of each other in volume and posting cadence, suggesting that the same culprit may have been amplifying both sides of the fight. —Lane Brown, Vulture, 15 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for mirror image

• scrimmage

Kids Definition

mirror image

noun

: something that has its parts joined together in much the same way as those of something else except that each part of one thing is directly opposite to the corresponding part of the other thing and located on the opposite side of, the same distance away from, and facing in the same way toward or away from an axis or plane between the two things

the two sides of an animal with bilateral symmetry are mirror images of each other

Medical Definition

mirror image

noun

: something that has its parts reversely arranged in comparison with another similar thing or that is reversed with reference to an intervening axis or plane