mimic 1 of 3

mimic

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adjective

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mimic

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noun

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as in mime
an actor in a story performed silently and entirely by body movements a mimic in black clothes and white facial makeup

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word mimic distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of mimic are ape, copy, imitate, and mock. While all these words mean "to make something so that it resembles an existing thing," mimic implies a close copying (as of voice or mannerism) often for fun, ridicule, or lifelike imitation.

pupils mimicking their teacher

Where would ape be a reasonable alternative to mimic?

While in some cases nearly identical to mimic, ape may suggest presumptuous, slavish, or inept imitating of a superior original.

American fashion designers aped their European colleagues

When would copy be a good substitute for mimic?

The words copy and mimic can be used in similar contexts, but copy suggests duplicating an original as nearly as possible.

copied the painting and sold the fake as an original

When could imitate be used to replace mimic?

The meanings of imitate and mimic largely overlap; however, imitate suggests following a model or a pattern but may allow for some variation.

imitate a poet's style

In what contexts can mock take the place of mimic?

In some situations, the words mock and mimic are roughly equivalent. However, mock usually implies imitation with derision.

mocking a vain man's pompous manner

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 mimic
Verb
This breezy caftan mimics Stewart’s with its colorful pattern, bat wings, and maxi length. Izzy Baskette, People.com, 8 July 2025 First lady Melania Trump appeared to mimic her husband's iconic 'Trump dance' on the White House balcony on Friday evening from which the couple watched an Independence Day fireworks display over the nation's capital. James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 July 2025
Adjective
That is, the mimic leaves were longer, and less lobed. Ari Daniel, NPR, 14 Sep. 2024 Sting is also a mimic, able to copy Charlotte’s whistle, even though, as the slightly creepy would-be scientist living upstairs tells her, spiders don’t have vocal cords. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
Noun
Creatures abound, such as a shape-shifting mimic disguised as a chest, and yes, of course there will be a dragon, here seen as a projection. Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2025 Males try to mate with infected mimics, females are drawn in by the performance, and the fungus passes silently between them all. Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mimic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mimic
Verb
  • And beyond device checks, smart verification systems can also monitor behavioral signals—like typing speed, location, or login habits—to spot anomalies that a cloned voice can’t imitate.
    Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 10 July 2025
  • His celebration imitated him sitting down playing a video game – a tribute to his former Portugal teammate Diogo Jota who died in a car crash last week.
    Ben Morse, CNN Money, 10 July 2025
Verb
  • To convert these advantages into productive capacity, the United States should selectively emulate today’s preeminent manufacturing powerhouse and rediscover its own ability to build fast and build well.
    Damien Ma, Foreign Affairs, 1 July 2025
  • Scorpio Mysterious, magnetic, and maybe just a little bit dangerous: Scorpio, your jewelry needs to match your passion and emulate your true inner light to the outside world.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 27 June 2025
Adjective
  • Darvish, who will turn 39 in August, pitched in simulated games against minor-league hitters twice in the past 12 days.
    Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2025
  • This fifth entry goes full sci-fi mayhem, with Milla Jovovich’s Alice waking up in an underwater Umbrella Corporation facility and fighting her way through a series of simulated environments, each more chaotic than the last.
    Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 21 June 2025
Adjective
  • Nautilus is bold in its changes to Captain Nemo’s story — new monsters, new villains — but imitative to other genre series in execution, and the vibe is a little didactic.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 June 2025
  • The word was likely imitative of the deep humming sound male bees make.
    Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
Noun
  • As for populating those living Polaroids, dancers and mimes were hired so that they were better trained to stand still in the correct positions.
    Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2025
  • Movement coordinator Polly Bennett helped craft each actor’s pose, but the fact that they were stopped halfway through a gesture put a strain on even the highest-caliber mime.
    Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2025
Verb
  • Reno 911! is a mockumentary comedy series that parodies law enforcement and premiered on Comedy Central in 2003.
    Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 7 July 2025
  • Fun factoid: Don Adams as Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) talking on the shoe phone has been parodied by many comedians over the years.
    Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
Verb
  • Geraghty told the foundation that Dohn's comprehensive instruction plan for the 2024-25 school year was late because Davenport was the only Dohn employee copied on those reminder emails.
    Madeline Mitchell, The Enquirer, 3 July 2025
  • The Anthropic Case The first decision, issued in June, involved a lawsuit by three book authors, who alleged that Anthropic PBC infringed the authors’ copyrights by copying several of their books (among millions of others) to train its text generative AI system called Claude.
    Dale Nelson, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025
Adjective
  • Commissioner of the Food and Drugs Administration Marty Makary speaks at a news conference on removing synthetic dyes from America’s food supply, at the Health and Human Services Headquarters in Washington, DC on April 22, 2025.
    Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 11 July 2025
  • Tennis strings come in three main categories: natural gut, multifilament, which is synthetic but made up of thousands of fibres woven together per string, and polyester, which is a single fibre per string.
    Caoimhe O'Neill, New York Times, 11 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Mimic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mimic. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.

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