duplicate 1 of 3

Definition of duplicatenext

duplicate

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noun

duplicate

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verb

1
as in to copy
to make an exact likeness of art students trying to duplicate paintings in the museum's collection as part of their training

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in to replicate
to make or do again we were unable to duplicate the experiment in our own lab, so we're suspicious

Synonyms & Similar Words

3
as in to double
to make twice as great or as many the recipe can be easily duplicated in order to feed a large family

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun duplicate differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of duplicate are copy, facsimile, replica, and reproduction. While all these words mean "a thing made to closely resemble another," duplicate implies a double or counterpart exactly corresponding to another thing.

a duplicate of a house key

When is it sensible to use copy instead of duplicate?

The meanings of copy and duplicate largely overlap; however, copy applies especially to one of a number of things reproduced mechanically.

printed 1000 copies of the lithograph

When can facsimile be used instead of duplicate?

Although the words facsimile and duplicate have much in common, facsimile suggests a close reproduction often of graphic matter that may differ in scale.

a facsimile of a rare book

Where would replica be a reasonable alternative to duplicate?

While the synonyms replica and duplicate are close in meaning, replica implies the exact reproduction of a particular item in all details, but not always in the same scale.

a replica of the Mayflower
miniature replicas of classic cars

When might reproduction be a better fit than duplicate?

While in some cases nearly identical to duplicate, reproduction implies an exact or close imitation of an existing thing.

reproductions from the museum's furniture collection

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 duplicate
Adjective
Using unique identifiers attached to each arrestee, The Post excluded a number of apparent duplicate arrests from its analysis. Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 6 Apr. 2026 More recently, initiatives such as Operation Janus and Operation Second Look have used data matching and record review to identify inconsistencies in immigration files, including cases involving duplicate identities, missing biometric data, or undisclosed prior removal orders. Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
Noun
Other names are probably duplicates, the government says, while some people may have gone off the grid voluntarily for personal reasons. Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2026 Software engineer Alexey Grigorev recently watched an AI agent destroy his entire production database—wiping out years of course data after a setup error caused the system to delete the live environment instead of cleaning up duplicates. Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2026
Verb
By contrast, the all-new voice cast for Tales From ’85 is stuck trying to duplicate the performances that came before, though only Braxton Quinney, who plays Dustin, and sometimes Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, who plays Max, are true soundalikes. Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 23 Apr. 2026 Can this version of the team duplicate or improve on last season? Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for duplicate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for duplicate
Adjective
  • Leonard had a similar shot for the Raptors that won a series, but the bounce off the heel of the rim and in was nearly identical to Haliburton’s for the Indiana Pacers last year.
    Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 2 May 2026
  • Many of the Huayuan fossils look similar, if not identical, to those in the Burgess Shale, indicating that these marine ecosystems were connected by global ocean currents.
    Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 1 May 2026
Noun
  • Alpencamper View gallery - 13 images Most bicycle campers just tow, but there are some that flip, that drop, that pitch and that straight blow up.
    C.C. Weiss May 01, New Atlas, 1 May 2026
  • However, the image of the Indigenous man is still featured around the campus, including in a large mural in the gym.
    Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 1 May 2026
Noun
  • Knapp’s wife, Grace Knapp, was presented with a copy of the commemorative street sign.
    Evy Lewis, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
  • There was a stack of six advanced reader copies of my own book.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Constable and Turner remain central to British identity today, their paintings reproduced on coffee mugs and fridge magnets; Church’s position in American culture is more precarious.
    Sebastian Smee, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
  • The likeliest atmospheric chemicals are methane, nitrogen or carbon monoxide, any of which could reproduce the observed dimming as the object passed before the star, according to Arimatsu.
    CBS News, CBS News, 4 May 2026
Verb
  • Study after study show that AI replicates the biases of the data it’s trained on.
    Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 3 May 2026
  • Kate Hudson’s red carpet glam is subtle and affordable enough to replicate in real life.
    Izzy Baskette, PEOPLE, 3 May 2026
Verb
  • Sasaki gave up back-to-back doubles to Iván Herrera and Alec Burleson, and a home run to Jordan Walker — who’s been swinging the hottest bat of any hitter this series — for a quick three runs.
    Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2026
  • Luis Arraez doubled with one out off bulk-inning reliever Jesse Scholtens, and Rafael Devers lined a two-out pitch to deep left that eluded Simpson at the wall.
    Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 May 2026
Adjective
  • Kirsten Kelly-Vargas and her husband, Gary, felt a similar urgency to acquire the proper attire for the occasion.
    Audrey Pachuta, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2026
  • Paller tried a similar experiment in 2009, this time using sound.
    Shayla Love, New Yorker, 1 May 2026
Noun
  • For an all-important sit-down dinner set inside Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper Museum, a team of Italian scenic painters—led by a woman who manages backdrops for an opera in Rome—built and painted a replica on a local soundstage that was about ¾ the size of the original.
    Mara Reinstein, Architectural Digest, 1 May 2026
  • This 24-pack of Harry Potter Chocolate Frogs is a near-exact replica of the chocolate frog Ron ate with Harry on their first train ride to Hogwarts in The Sorcerer’s Stone.
    Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 1 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Duplicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/duplicate. Accessed 5 May. 2026.

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