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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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1
as in hams
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2
as in anthropoids
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Dissimilar Words
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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Despite initial skepticism, the 1994 tournament drew record crowds and $50 million surplus, spurring MLS’s creation and innovations FIFA now copies worldwide.—
Kevin Baxter,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Jan. 2026
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Just look at Apple’s new product line that copies everything from the previous one, except the thickness.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
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And, because life sometimes imitates art, Williams and Storrie are heading to the Olympics.—
Anna Zucca,
Vanity Fair,
23 Jan. 2026
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The layered neckline, with the bust peeking out from behind, imitates this season's hottest red carpet trend, the semi-visible bra.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Glamour,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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For much of his career, Skarsgård has gravitated toward characters who weaponize physical presence — Vikings, tech titans and mythic brutes whose power is immediately legible.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026
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Credit to producers Tim Zinnemann and George Linder for selecting a veritable array of brutes to wage battle with Arnold.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Verb
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This rustic buffet cabinet from The Pioneer Woman’s Walmart collection emulates this traditional furniture piece with a few modernized updates.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
11 Jan. 2026
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Everything from the stunning lighting design (courtesy of Justin Townsend) to Groff's crooning vocals emulates a '50s night club.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Two actors received double recognition when the Library of Congress announced its most recent additions to the National Film Registry, a collection of classic films intended to highlight film preservation efforts and the depth and breadth of American film.—
Neda Ulaby,
NPR,
29 Jan. 2026
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Visitors can see authentic movie props, costumes worn by actors and re-creations of iconic scenes and settings.—
Travis Pinson,
Dallas Morning News,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Picking winners and losers, heroes and villains, pathways to success and failure, generates excitement for an event and manufactures a sense of urgency for maximal viewing pleasure.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2026
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As the country moves toward the 2026 midterms, the temptation will be to treat our current racial, political, and economic crisis as a sharp break from the past; to search for singular villains; and to imagine that a return to normalcy is just one election away.—
Heather Ann Thompson,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Rideshare posers have also allegedly raped passengers.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The critters who drop in or call the space home range from monarch butterflies, ladybugs and lizards to hummingbirds and bushtits, skunks, opossums and even the occasional mountain lion.—
Caron Golden,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Jan. 2026
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Thiols are responsible for the distinctive aromas of skunk spray and ripe durian; they’re also added to natural gas to provide a detectable rotten-egg smell at even trace levels.—
Nicola Twilley,
New Yorker,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Apes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apes. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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