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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From about 2011 to 2014, Gates emails Epstein directly, and often one of the pair copies Cohen or Nikolic.—
Erin Mansfield,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
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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
Verb
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Patagonia’s proprietary synthetic fill imitates down’s structure by spinning air-trapping microfilaments around a central fiber and requires fewer stabilizing seams and baffles than down.—
Kelly Bastone,
Outside,
10 Feb. 2026
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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
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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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.—
Josh Kelly,
Oklahoman,
27 Feb. 2026
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The season emulates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting and avoiding the temptations of evil in the desert, as mentioned in the Bible.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Now the actors, who work as game masters and perform as distressed abductees at the venue, will be frightening their guests while under union protection.—
Cerys Davies,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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The actors, both first-time Oscar nominees for their performances in Joachim Trier's movie, dig in on their complicated roles.—
Gerrad Hall,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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By dismissing shooters as incomprehensible villains, Peterson says, families and communities may miss warning signs in the young people around them.—
Brit McCandless Farmer,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2026
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In the finale, Muck takes the fall for Tender while the true villains get away.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Costumed reporters and awkward celebrity posers.—
Jerry Brewer,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
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Rideshare posers have also allegedly raped passengers.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Like other types of wildlife, such as raccoons, opossums, and skunks, coyotes love an easy meal and will quickly learn where to find one, says Owen.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
9 Mar. 2026
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Owens has spotted coyotes, crayfish, snakes, bats, foxes, skunks and a wide array of butterflies and moths on her daily walks through the forest.—
Jenna Ebbers,
Kansas City Star,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Apes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apes. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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