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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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of imitating
Now, in a case of life imitating art, Cameron himself is being accused of corporate extraction by an Indigenous woman.
—
Petala Ironcloud, Air Mail, 6 June 2026
In a case of life imitating art, this whodunnit explores the investigation behind her disappearance, strangely resembling one of Christie’s own novels, where everyone in her life becomes a suspect, including her brother, Monty (Trevena).
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 1 June 2026
Zoe, born seven years later, grew up watching them, imitating them and wanting to be them.
—Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026
So in that moment, life is imitating art a little bit.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 28 May 2026
So maybe that was art imitating life.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 18 May 2026
Life is officially imitating art for Dani Rojas from Ted Lasso.
—Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
Another potential treatment route the study opens up is using machines to massage cancer cells, imitating the rhythmic beating of the heart.
—Anil Oza, STAT, 23 Apr. 2026
Life imitating art By the time Artemis astronauts begin assembling a real foothold at the Moon’s south pole, the blueprint will feel oddly familiar, at least to those sim addicts who have been dreaming of a functional moon colony for decades now.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 22 Apr. 2026
Petala Ironcloud, Air Mail, 6 June 2026
In a case of life imitating art, this whodunnit explores the investigation behind her disappearance, strangely resembling one of Christie’s own novels, where everyone in her life becomes a suspect, including her brother, Monty (Trevena).
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 1 June 2026
Zoe, born seven years later, grew up watching them, imitating them and wanting to be them.
—Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026
So in that moment, life is imitating art a little bit.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 28 May 2026
So maybe that was art imitating life.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 18 May 2026
Life is officially imitating art for Dani Rojas from Ted Lasso.
—Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
Another potential treatment route the study opens up is using machines to massage cancer cells, imitating the rhythmic beating of the heart.
—Anil Oza, STAT, 23 Apr. 2026
Life imitating art By the time Artemis astronauts begin assembling a real foothold at the Moon’s south pole, the blueprint will feel oddly familiar, at least to those sim addicts who have been dreaming of a functional moon colony for decades now.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 22 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imitating
Verb
-
Rivals Crystal Palace became the third Premier League club in four years to lift the trophy with Wednesday’s 1-0 win in the final against Spanish side Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig, emulating West Ham (2023) and Chelsea (2025).—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
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His biggest achievement at City has been winning the Premier League-Champions League-FA Cup treble in the 2022-23 season, emulating the feat of Manchester United in 1999.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
Regardless, everyone approves of Kiana, with Zack good-naturedly parodying her sunglasses and the girls encouraging him to lock it down despite the tumultuous relationships their friend group seems to attract.—
Ile-Ife Okantah,
Vulture,
7 May 2026
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Influencer comedians like Madison Humphrey and Mitsy Sanderson have built large platforms parodying awkward moments.—
Rachel Hale,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Start copying Lopez below for as little as $20.—
Izzy Baskette,
PEOPLE,
4 June 2026
-
Simple tasks, like drawing lines or copying text, did not reveal major differences between the two groups.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Ozempic works by mimicking a hormone your gut already makes.—
Ryan Brennan,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 June 2026
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Since 2024, however, a new cohort of bitcoin treasury companies has emerged, with dozens of firms mimicking Strategy’s model.—
Tanaya Macheel,
CNBC,
9 June 2026
Verb
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In Sunday’s video, Bovino implied Mullin was not cut out for the job, mocking his family’s plumbing business.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
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Counter after counter resulted in Laredo Kid mocking Penta from the second rope.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
Young musicians frequently attempted to impress him by reproducing familiar Miles Davis styles.—
Bill Fischer,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
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The association said the releases are not a sustainable solution to prevent smallmouth bass from reproducing and threaten a critical fund used to operate, maintain and invest in hydropower and transmission facilities.—
Dorany Pineda,
Fortune,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Everybody knows that there’ll be certain parts that are doing okay, but a large part of the society in North Korea is very poor.—
Andrew McNicol,
CNN Money,
7 June 2026
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In coverage at Barron’s, Paul La Monica notes how Fidelity is probably doing this due to pressure from brokers like Robinhood that don’t have the same usual requirements.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Verb
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According to the team, the data collected by the system could be used to train robots to perform household tasks by replicating the dexterous hand movements used by humans.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
10 June 2026
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Given the financial and environmental costs of manufacturing at scale in orbit, Williams, the biophysics professor, expects that the future lies in making small research batches in space and replicating that on Earth.—
Elsa Ohlen,
CNBC,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imitating. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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