duplicate 1 of 3

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
Businesses will do this for a number of reasons, but primary objectives will include a need to streamline software tooling and avoid duplicate efforts to drive better business outcomes. Adrian Bridgwater, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025 And there were no other updates until May when Mullens received a letter from the VA, alerting him to the duplicate payments, which the VA said resulted in about $340 in overpayments each month. Melissa Chan, NBC news, 1 June 2025
Noun
Clooney and Heslov’s play is an almost word-for-word duplicate of its big-screen predecessor, with little interest in probing Murrow’s interior life or deepening the relationships between characters. Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025 Biotech ingredients are nature-identical, genetic duplicates of the real thing. Joshua Britton, Time, 2 Apr. 2025
Verb
Applying for child care or SNAP still means dealing with outdated forms, duplicate documentation, and clunky portals. Melanie La Rocca, New York Daily News, 27 May 2025 Over time, the hard disk starts filling up with everything, including PDFs, video files, random screenshots, and duplicate photos transferred from an SD card or your phone. Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 16 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for duplicate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for duplicate
Adjective
  • The two cases are not identical, as there is no dispute that Drogheda and Silkeborg are controlled by the same owner, whereas Textor has never had that much sway at Palace, but Trivela’s travails demonstrate that UEFA is getting increasingly strict with MCO groups.
    Matt Slater, New York Times, 22 June 2025
  • There is humor, however, in Lucy being surrounded by identical cheering women who are also in her sorority of peddling soulmates to the soulless as she is told the news.
    Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 16 June 2025
Noun
  • Fordow, Iran's underground nuclear enrichment site, was pictured in satellite images showing from a bird's-eye view that the strike had obliterated some structures at the site.
    Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 22 June 2025
  • This infographic with satellite image from Planet Labs PBC from March 19, 2025, showing the Fordow nuclear site, in Iran.
    Carlo Versano Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 June 2025
Noun
  • Selling 95,000 copies of DESIRE: UNLEASH in the U.S., the boy band also scored a No. 3 debut on the Billboard 200, marking its eighth entry on the chart and its fifth top 10 album.
    Stephen Daw, Billboard, 23 June 2025
  • Luminate reports that during the most recent tracking period — which is when people learned of Wilson’s passing — the song sold just under 4,200 copies.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
Verb
  • In ideal conditions, flies reproduce in less than a week, says Oi.
    Arricca Elin SanSone, Southern Living, 18 June 2025
  • With the ability to reproduce an actor’s exact facial performance with little to no input from an animator, Dorothy can shoot 48 frames a second.
    Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2025
Verb
  • By embedding brand activations into the live environment, marketing partners aligned with the PGA Tour’s values while engaging fans in authentic, memorable ways that digital experiences can’t replicate.
    Julio Cesar Gomez, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
  • For Bailey, that includes connection, empathy, and presence, qualities that no algorithm can replicate.
    William Jones, USA Today, 26 June 2025
Verb
  • Taking the pill once a day led to around 10% weight loss, and those who doubled the dose lost 13%.
    Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 23 June 2025
  • Afp | Getty Images Defense spending has been a thorny subject for NATO members for years, and a persistent source of annoyance and anger for Trump, who was demanding that allies double their spending goals from 2% to 4% of GDP all the way back in 2018.
    Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 23 June 2025
Adjective
  • That scientist, Anne O’Donnell-Luria, sent a request to a geneticist at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., for more information about patients with the same genetic change, or similar ones in nearly the same place.
    The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 June 2025
  • More than a dozen House Democrats have co-sponsored the resolution, and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has put forward a similar measure in the Senate.
    Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 24 June 2025
Noun
  • Its rebirth began as a digital model in The Golf Club video game and was brought to life in the sandy soil of central Wisconsin—now a near-exact replica.
    Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
  • In collaboration with The Intel Lab, Orion Intel created a 3D replica of the plant.
    Jeff Goertzen, Oc Register, 22 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Duplicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/duplicate. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.

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