imitate
verb (used with object)
to follow or endeavor to follow as a model or example.
imitated
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past participleof imitate.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof imitate.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
imitateverb (used with object)to follow or endeavor to follow as a model or example.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“So many of Flynn’s films are supposedly his life being imitated in art, and that was kind of like the last instance of that, in a very sordid way,” O’Brien said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
He entertained mass audiences so successfully that his murder mysteries, spy sagas and innocent-man-accused tales became their own genre: the Alfred Hitchcock Movie, often imitated but never equaled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Life imitated art for Cyrus, who became a global pop star off the back of the show's success.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
Life imitated art when, in 2019, Van Der Beek fulfilled the prophecy foretold by a “Don’t Trust the B—” storyline and became a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026
Some eight of those nearby had been jerking their bills, which he had imitated as if the act were catching, and now, with these same eight, he found himself on pinion in the horizontal air.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
