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
Instead of imitating other instruments and conforming to conventional musical ideas, Buchla (and Ciani) set out to create a paradigm based on harnessing the flow of electricity itself.
—
Andrew Ryce, Pitchfork, 9 Apr. 2026
In the clip Miller says a lot without naming names and without directly addressing the life-imitating-art of it all.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 8 Apr. 2026
The gulls weren’t directly imitating the act of eating.
—Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Mar. 2026
The gulls weren’t imitating human eating directly but were using the human’s choice as a cue to guide their own foraging decisions.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026
The gulls weren’t imitating human eating directly.
—Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 30 Mar. 2026
Wade reportedly worries audiences may think her performances are imitating an idea Swift created due to the 14-time Grammy Award winning singer’s enormous popularity.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 30 Mar. 2026
His YouTube page, once an online venue for his songs, was more recently dedicated to paranoid rants about his family members, some centering on his relationship with his grandfather, and others where Valdez displayed bizarre behavior like imitating Nazi soldiers.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 29 Mar. 2026
One of them was imitating his voice.
—Michael Rios, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2026
Andrew Ryce, Pitchfork, 9 Apr. 2026
In the clip Miller says a lot without naming names and without directly addressing the life-imitating-art of it all.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 8 Apr. 2026
The gulls weren’t directly imitating the act of eating.
—Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Mar. 2026
The gulls weren’t imitating human eating directly but were using the human’s choice as a cue to guide their own foraging decisions.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026
The gulls weren’t imitating human eating directly.
—Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 30 Mar. 2026
Wade reportedly worries audiences may think her performances are imitating an idea Swift created due to the 14-time Grammy Award winning singer’s enormous popularity.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 30 Mar. 2026
His YouTube page, once an online venue for his songs, was more recently dedicated to paranoid rants about his family members, some centering on his relationship with his grandfather, and others where Valdez displayed bizarre behavior like imitating Nazi soldiers.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 29 Mar. 2026
One of them was imitating his voice.
—Michael Rios, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imitating
Verb
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Another friendly, to take place before facing Mexico, is also in the pipeline ahead of Popovic inking his final 26-man squad; one that will carry Australian hopes of emulating their round of 16 appearances in Germany at the 2006 edition and then Qatar 2022 — and the dream of even more.—
Michael Bailey,
New York Times,
1 Apr. 2026
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At least for now, Bath’s example illustrates the possibilities in terms of both promise and avenues for development—by emulating nature (selecting hardy strains of Bacillus) and pharmaceutical engineering (capsule technology), civil engineers are rethinking concrete from the inside out.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And of course Burrs, whom Donica plays with titanic, Sweeney-esque feeling and force of baritone, is all the more self-hating and compromised, having made a career parodying himself.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2026
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The cliffhanger of the previous season, which saw Lister impregnated by his female self from an alternate universe, is dismissed with a pre-episode text crawl parodying Star Wars, which irreverently moved way too fast to read.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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One of their tactics was to charge record requesters not just for copying costs but for the time workers spent assembling the records.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Apr. 2026
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Donnie is now directing and starring in a movie with his particular style and flair and expertise that isn’t copying anything from the Wick world but is furthering the story of one of the most extraordinary characters to come out of the Wick universe ever.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Tassoni is best known for his 2023 Black List script Lure, which follows a park ranger lured into the woods by a dangerous, unearthly predator mimicking her dead daughter.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
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Martha Stewart, who introduced her followers to the tradition in 2005, resurrected the dessert a few days ago on Instagram with a photo of a cake expertly decorated with chocolate curls mimicking a lamb’s wooly coat.—
Lisa Gutierrez
April 3,
Kansas City Star,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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When Suzanna, a fledgling psychologist, tells, at Max’s urging, a mocking anecdote about one of her young clients, neither Becky nor the sensitive Andrew get the laugh.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
6 Apr. 2026
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Talkative characters like the froggish Mallow and even Bowser himself are motor-mouthed and sarcastic, nigglingly mocking Mario for his inability to speak in anything other than nods and pantomimes.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As guests left, we were handed boxes of produce used in the lunch served, including parsnips for reproducing blogger Christina Conte’s unique savory parsnip scones.—
Judy Bart Kancigor,
Oc Register,
9 Apr. 2026
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Despite religious and phenotypic differences, people around the western Mediterranean Sea have been interacting, trading, warring, migrating, and reproducing together for centuries.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Even the Altitude Edition with the black wheels -- at the time no one was really doing that.—
Morgan Korn,
ABC News,
12 Apr. 2026
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The authority on gardening in the South loved doing live shows and meeting his fans.—
Rodney Ho,
AJC.com,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Levy’s novel is comic but suffused with dread, replicating the internet era’s many disorienting bids for our attention.—
Emma Alpern,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2026
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The band broke up in 2001 but reunited in 2014 — though no subsequent music came close to replicating the song’s chart success.—
Ryan Brennan
April 8,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imitating. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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