copycat 1 of 2

noun

ˈkä-pē-ˌkat How to pronounce copycat (audio)
Definition of copycatnext
as in imitator
a person who adopts the appearance or behavior of another especially in an obvious way every rock singer who makes it big soon has a whole cluster of copycats

Synonyms & Similar Words

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copycat

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to copy
to make an exact likeness of asked her stylist to copycat a hairstyle from the magazine

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to imitate
to use (someone or something) as the model for one's speech, mannerisms, or behavior a performer who slavishly copycats another never rises to the level of true stardom

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of copycat
Noun
The film was effectively banned from being screened and advertised in Boll's home country, where it was produced, out of concern that its extreme depictions of anti-immigrant violence may inspire copycat attacks. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 29 June 2026 Apollo’s early-2010s bet on its insurer Athene spawned a decade of copycats, and over the past few years most big alternative asset managers have either bought a life-insurance company or launched dedicated businesses to manage their money. — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 23 June 2026
Verb
But factors including insurance coverage, pricing, copycat drugs and the development of new pills will ultimately determine how far the treatments will reach. — Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 2 Nov. 2025 Maybe don’t copycat Netflix so much, other streamers. — Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for copycat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for copycat
  1. imitator
  2. copy
  3. imitate
  4. follower
  5. replicate
  6. emulate
  7. echo
  8. reproduce
Noun
  • But the arrival of Buc-ee's supercharged the trend and spawned imitators like Wally's, which has three 50,000-square-foot locations in the Midwest, with plans for more.
    — Kevin Williams, CNBC, 2 July 2026
  • The frontier labs keep shipping the next capability while the imitators are still training on the last one, and the value keeps accruing to whoever is ahead rather than to whoever copied the leader's previous answers.
    — Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026
Definition of imitator
Verb
  • Websites under the control of the attackers display a CAPTCHA that requires the visitor to copy a jumble of text and paste it into the terminal.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 16 July 2026
  • When the surgeon moved the controls, Surgie copied those movements at the operating table.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 14 July 2026
Definition of copy
Verb
  • An intern at the company began receiving messages impersonating Ghosemajumder in his first week—the result of criminals scraping LinkedIn to map a new hire’s reporting chain and identify exactly whom to imitate.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 13 July 2026
  • But according to some luxury brands, authenticity is something that is often imitated but never replicated.
    — James Sneed, NPR, 10 July 2026
Definition of imitate
Noun
  • Mascots, once an afterthought, are celebrities—Gritty, the beguiling ogre that represents Philadelphia’s hockey team, the Flyers, has significantly more Instagram followers than any of the team’s players.
    — Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026
  • Johnson, known as DreamDoll Brii on social media, was a budding influencer with more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and more than 500,000 on her TikTok account _itgirbri.
    — Angie DiMichele, Sun Sentinel, 17 July 2026
Definition of follower
Verb
  • Mastros becomes the seventh position player to transfer to Georgia this offseason, as the Bulldogs continue to build up their 2027 roster and attempt to replicate the success from this past season.
    — Hunter DeLauder, AJC.com, 15 July 2026
  • After an investigation was conducted, the Cruise Lines International Association and the International Maritime Organization implemented over 30 new safety rules and policies to avoid replicating the 2012 disaster, per CNN.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 15 July 2026
Definition of replicate
Verb
  • After the season ended, Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka cited Mitchell’s progression between the guard’s first and second years as a model for player development the Lakers wanted to emulate.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
  • After the United States was founded in 1776, leaders like Thomas Jefferson chose to emulate classical architecture when building its Washington, DC, capital as a nod to the democratic ideals of the Greek and Roman empires.
    — Elizabeth Fazzare, Architectural Digest, 4 July 2026
Definition of emulate
Noun
  • The rural storytelling and fiddle music on the frontier inspired the emergence and growth of commercial country music and bluegrass music, while echoes of acoustic blues and protest songs can be heard in modern R&B and hip-hop.
    — Ted Olson, The Conversation, 2 July 2026
  • These trades also feel like a bizarro echo of a deal by previous Canucks management almost exactly one year ago.
    — Thomas Drance, New York Times, 30 June 2026
Definition of echo
Verb
  • The interest is less in reproducing historical jewelry — no one is asking clients to dress like Julius Caesar — than in giving contemporary pieces the patina, uniqueness and narrative of objects that appear to have lived another life.
    — Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 16 July 2026
  • Finding egg cases or droppings resembling pepper or coffee grounds usually means that the population is reproducing.
    — Faith Wakefield, USA Today, 16 July 2026
Definition of reproduce

Browse Nearby Words

copy
copycat
copycats
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Cite this Entry

“Copycat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/copycat. Accessed 19 Jul. 2026.

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