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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as in hams
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of apes
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
12 June 2026
But if getting Andy back in the Runway fold feels a lot like getting her into it in the first film, that feeling will only persist, as the sequel apes the original feature nearly beat for beat, with some small swaps here and there.
—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
29 Apr. 2026
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
Verb
The track apes the softly anthemic approach of U2, Coldplay, and the National—until all of that elegant uplift topples like an overly ambitious wedding cake.
—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
12 June 2026
But if getting Andy back in the Runway fold feels a lot like getting her into it in the first film, that feeling will only persist, as the sequel apes the original feature nearly beat for beat, with some small swaps here and there.
—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
29 Apr. 2026
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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The technology copies tone, speech patterns, and accents closely enough that many people can't tell the difference between a real voice and a fake one.
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The logic behind the format essentially copies what Spotify has done with podcasts, which is shorter listens leading to longer-form engagement over time.
Noun
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Just as their characters have evolved and gained electric momentum in their careers, so have the actors.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also warned that Washington would not tolerate any tolling system on Hormuz, saying his agency would aggressively target any actors involved.
Noun
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These brutes commonly exceed 50 pounds.
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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.
Verb
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The undulating roofline imitates the Allegheny Mountains, and 38 steel columns create a canopy reminiscent of the region's forests, Prix Versailles says.
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My mother imitates me, then converts the word into a pair of Korean syllables that sound most like the German.
Noun
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Get paid, hang out like the rest of these posers.
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Costumed reporters and awkward celebrity posers.
Noun
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The new production will follow Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo from their comic book origins to becoming global pop culture icons, battling familiar villains along the way.
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Trump’s great leaders were villains, not heroes.
Verb
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Like many performance EVs attempting to address the absence of combustion-engine noise, Genesis has also developed a bespoke electric Active Sound Design system to create a soundtrack that emulates an ICE vehicle.
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Virgin with Codex emulates the original painting’s translucent hair.
Noun
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Upstairs, impressionists, writers, socialites, and painters who moved in Proust’s orbit, from Sarah Bernhardt to Emile Zola and Claude Monet, lent their names to a room or suite.
Cite this Entry
“Apes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apes. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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