imitating

present participle of imitate
1
as in emulating
to use (someone or something) as the model for one's speech, mannerisms, or behavior teenage musicians who imitate whichever rock stars are hot

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 imitating OpenAI denied intentionally imitating Johansson’s voice and later withdrew the feature. — ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026 Speaking of the oversized, the collection’s Handloom Cardigan fits the bill but spares you from imitating a balloon, courtesy of those vertical stripes (also known as the oldest optical trick in the fashion book). — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026 Her makeup could not be prettier or more ideal for imitating, with its barely-there shimmer shadow, the softest possible wing, and gloss in what appears to be her natural lip color. — Marci Robin, Allure, 27 Sep. 2026 The league immediately decided Juszczyk was imitating drinking beer. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2026 In a case of life imitating art, the real-life age gap between actors Reinhart and Bateman is pretty close to that of Olive and Adam. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 25 Sep. 2026 Rather than taking advantage of genuine quantum effects, Scholes proposes, life might be imitating them instead. — Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 23 Sep. 2026 One year later, Clooney, 65, is back at the Venice Film Festival for a spin in the spotlight on the opening night for a bit of life imitating art. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026 Slop is formulaic and impersonal, the aggregate of everything that is already imitating everything else. — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imitating
Verb
  • There are also two shallow soaking pools to enjoy—one acts as a wave pool, emulating the rocking of the ship.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • AeroSHARK achieves a similar effect by emulating nature's design.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 28 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The latter went from working on Star Trek properties (Next Gen, Voyager, Enterprise) to parodying them with MacFarlane on The Orville.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The White House announced Arcade on social media with a series of animations parodying Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo loading screens.
    — Lou Kesten, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Even more concerning, the fake installer shows one command on the screen while secretly copying another.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Founder Yang Tao said the goal extends beyond copying human anatomy.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The twist was that Japanese denim-spinners weren’t mimicking the denims of the Eighties.
    — Matt Alt, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The biggest challenges, its designers say, were mimicking the fade from crisp morning rays to bright noon light to a soft evening glow, and creating a sense of depth to conjure the distant sky.
    — Emma Barker, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • There were earlier versions of this story that were openly mocking of Kip, versions that threw Leo under the bus for being too sly; versions that were too overtly political; versions with ghosts that didn’t need to be there, and so on.
    — Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Reels captured everything from dancing and DJ parties at protest sites to songs mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
    — Ayushi Shah, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • In 2003, however, Kember made a splash with Forged Prescriptions, a re-release that favored fuller mixes and extra overdubs which the band had jettisoned owing to the difficulty of reproducing them.
    — Gabriel Szatan, Pitchfork, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Future work will examine whether reproducing more of the intestine’s physical and chemical conditions can help maintain bacterial activity and improve performance.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • In 2025 the hyperscalers alone poured more than $300 billion into data centers, chips, and grid capacity, and that spend is doing real work in the top-line growth figures.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • What employers are doing Kostka says there have recently been fewer health insurers in her area to choose from.
    — Alana Semuels, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Rather than replicating the formula of an international luxury chain, Elegance has built its reputation on intimate hotels that celebrate Vietnamese hospitality, thoughtful design, and sense of place.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
  • His work is crisp, playful, and nostalgic, replicating the exact fonts and presentations of centuries-old stylings for businesses and public parks alike.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Imitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imitating. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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