as in copies
to use (someone or something) as the model for one's speech, mannerisms, or behavior
was caught aping the substitute teacher's thick accent
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1
as in hams
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2
as in anthropoids
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of apes
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
There are high columns crawling with ivy, nearly 12 acres of rolling lawns, teensy windows with teensy shutters, and a diminutive pool house that apes a fairy-tale cottage.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 16 Sep. 2025
Verb
More importantly, this origin story of a movie and a movement apes the joie de moviemaking and the jazzy looseness of the original to an absolutely amazing degree, replicating an off-the-cuff feeling that’s more than a second-hand buzz.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
There are high columns crawling with ivy, nearly 12 acres of rolling lawns, teensy windows with teensy shutters, and a diminutive pool house that apes a fairy-tale cottage.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apes
Verb
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On a party count, that is 4-3 for the Dems and the one-for-you, one-for-me bipartisan staffing copies the Board of Elections.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
30 Mar. 2026
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Every time the virus copies itself inside a cell, its genetic material mutates.—
Kyle B. Enfield,
The Conversation,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Aristotle said that art imitates nature (ars imitatur naturam), and for centuries, many artists sought to imitate their subjects as realistically as possible.—
Andrey Mir,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
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Whether or not life imitates art remains to be seen.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That’s happened in several Mid Atlantic rivers, but in the absence of larger brutes like blues and flathead, channels will thrive and can break the 15-pound mark.—
Joe Cermele,
Outdoor Life,
9 Apr. 2026
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In Raspail’s tale, hordes of impoverished and dark-skinned brutes from India descend onto French shores by way of rafts, the first wave of an invasion of the civilized West by the brown-skinned developing world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Following film was a full run on the team’s NBA floor rather than the practice facility, which better emulates a game feel.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
14 Apr. 2026
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Instead, the site recommends a homemade mixture consisting of four parts water to one part sugar, which emulates the amount of sugar naturally found in nectar.—
Cheyenne Derksen,
Oklahoman,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That burden, along with the conventions of the true-crime genre, not to mention that of theater in service of a political point, sometimes hampers the interpretive space of the actors and the creative team, who have to spend a lot of their time getting the facts and the history across.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Apr. 2026
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Because that is what these characters, these actors, this ‘All American’ crew and staff are after eight beautiful, hard fought, seasons together.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The plot centers on the world-famous Running Men, who suddenly transform into dangerous villains attacking Tree City.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2026
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That’s because Steps centers on Cinderella’s stepsisters, Lilith and Margot, reimagining them as far more than one-dimensional villains.—
Ryan Brennan
April 9,
Sacbee.com,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Costumed reporters and awkward celebrity posers.—
Jerry Brewer,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Rideshare posers have also allegedly raped passengers.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Like most common garden pests, skunks are often misunderstood creatures.—
Michelle Mastro,
Martha Stewart,
5 Apr. 2026
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Health officials in Oakland County reported that a resident was bitten by a skunk last Friday, which tested positive for rabies earlier this week.—
Eric Henderson,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Apes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apes. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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