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
Relevance
2
as in parodying
to copy or exaggerate (someone or something) in order to make fun of
imitating someone's stutter and laughing at them is a cruel thing to do
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in copying
to make an exact likeness of
a second-rate artist who was notorious for imitating the works of other painters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of imitating
The clarinet and piano played musical lines imitating birds.
—
Rebecca Coffey, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
In the image, the president is also backdropped by a city beach covered with fire and smoke, seemingly imitating an active war zone.
—Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
Painters and sculptors, most of them spend their careers imitating themselves, in a sense.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
Paul fears art imitating life by also boiling down to breadline survival strategies.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 29 Aug. 2025
Many newcomers have been accused of imitating jaydes and wifiskeleton, who, like XXXTentacion before them, began in the rap underworld before turning to tears-and-terror rock.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 27 Aug. 2025
The ceiling itself moves with fluid lines, imitating the waves of the sea nearby.
—Ludovica Stevan, Architectural Digest, 24 Aug. 2025
In recent years, researchers have created machines imitating the look and movement of bats, coyotes, falcons, rats, guppies, bees, and even cockroaches.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 13 Aug. 2025
In a clip posted by mom Aspen Gore (@aspenbrooke) on TikTok, her 24-year-old husband, Adam, gets down on all fours, imitating the way his young son might crawl toward an electrical socket.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
Rebecca Coffey, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
In the image, the president is also backdropped by a city beach covered with fire and smoke, seemingly imitating an active war zone.
—Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
Painters and sculptors, most of them spend their careers imitating themselves, in a sense.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
Paul fears art imitating life by also boiling down to breadline survival strategies.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 29 Aug. 2025
Many newcomers have been accused of imitating jaydes and wifiskeleton, who, like XXXTentacion before them, began in the rap underworld before turning to tears-and-terror rock.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 27 Aug. 2025
The ceiling itself moves with fluid lines, imitating the waves of the sea nearby.
—Ludovica Stevan, Architectural Digest, 24 Aug. 2025
In recent years, researchers have created machines imitating the look and movement of bats, coyotes, falcons, rats, guppies, bees, and even cockroaches.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 13 Aug. 2025
In a clip posted by mom Aspen Gore (@aspenbrooke) on TikTok, her 24-year-old husband, Adam, gets down on all fours, imitating the way his young son might crawl toward an electrical socket.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imitating
Verb
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When Donovan achieves national attention, Cartman gets a haircut — emulating Kirk — and starts his own debate channel in an effort to win the Charlie Kirk Award for Young Masterdebaters.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Sep. 2025
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With its left hand outstretched, the robot used it to maintain balance while accurately playing shots, emulating human beings.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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What To Know The Democratic governor of California has recently taken on a new strategy to oppose Trump—parodying the president's brash social media style to mock him.—
Alia Shoaib,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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Though the movie is accessible to new fans, there are plenty of winks and nods for diehards who can understand what might seem, to the uninitiated, like cheesy moments—a cringeworthy English rap verse, a scene parodying the product placement in K-dramas—as self-aware jokes.—
Yvonne Kim,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Third-party imitation involves observing interactions between two individuals then faithfully copying those interactions.—
GrrlScientist,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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The trailer shows the player character to be a simple Ditto, the amorphous blob Pokémon capable of copying others’ appearance, taking on the eerie form of a human girl before making its way into the world.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Using an ice chamber, the team froze mixtures of water, carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia to a bone-chilling –420 degrees Fahrenheit (-253 degrees Celsius), mimicking frigid conditions near the moon's surface.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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The future of marketing for SMBs doesn’t lie in mimicking enterprise strategies.—
Ashot Barseghyan,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Student accused of mocking Charlie Kirk death Camryn Giselle Booker, a student at Texas Tech University, was arrested on charges of assault after an altercation with students mourning the death of Charlie Kirk.—
Amanda Castro
Hannah Parry
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon is seeking to identify and potentially discipline anyone who has made posts celebrating or mocking Kirk’s death.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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By reproducing the tachocline, scientists now have a foundation for more reliable forecasts of solar activity.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
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Preliminary data seemed to show that the Iberian harvester ants, or Messor ibericus, were creating hybrid worker ants by reproducing with another species of harvester ant called Messor structor in the Mediterranean region.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In doing so, Martin implicated billionaire bankers, major American corporations, and Colombia’s political elite.—
Martin Suarez,
Rolling Stone,
13 Sep. 2025
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Back on the balcony, the magician was doing his best to charm basketball players Devin Booker and Jordan Clarkson with card tricks.—
Kristen Tauer,
Footwear News,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Listings on marketplaces Etsy and needshirt showed shirts replicating the one depicted in images the FBI circulated in their search for the suspect.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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The immediate next steps for the research include replicating the results in thin films to compare them with bulk crystals.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Imitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imitating. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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