imitate

[im-i-teyt]

verb (used with object)

imitated, imitating 

1. to follow or endeavor to follow as a model or example.

   to imitate an author's style; to imitate an older brother.

2. to mimic; impersonate.

   The students imitated the teacher behind her back.

   Synonyms: mock, ape

3. to make a copy of; reproduce closely.

4. to have or assume the appearance of; simulate; resemble.

imitate

/ ˈɪmɪˌteɪt /

verb

1. to try to follow the manner, style, character, etc, of or take as a model

   many writers imitated the language of Shakespeare

2. to pretend to be or to impersonate, esp for humour; mimic

3. to make a copy or reproduction of; duplicate; counterfeit

4. to make or be like; resemble or simulate

   her achievements in politics imitated her earlier successes in business

Other Word Forms

• imitator noun
• nonimitating adjective
• overimitate verb (used with object)
• preimitate verb (used with object)
• unimitated adjective
• unimitating adjective
• well-imitated adjective
• imitability noun
• imitable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of imitate¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin imitātus, past participle of imitārī “to copy,” presumably a frequentative akin to the base of imāgō image

Word History and Origins

Origin of imitate¹

C16: from Latin imitārī; see _image

Synonym Study

Imitate, copy, duplicate, reproduce all mean to follow or try to follow an example or pattern. Imitate is the general word for the idea: to imitate someone's handwriting, behavior. To copy is to make a fairly exact imitation of an original creation: to copy a sentence, a dress, a picture. To duplicate is to produce something that exactly resembles or corresponds to something else; both may be originals: to duplicate the terms of two contracts. To reproduce is to make a likeness or reconstruction of an original: to reproduce a 16th-century theater.

Example Sentences

And in a case of art fondly imitating life, Roker’s Al Hunter is a local weatherman with a penchant for dad jokes.

From Los Angeles Times

La Liga's path is not to imitate the Premier League but to consolidate its own model.

From BBC

To imitate human heat and thus deceive Ukrainian thermal imaging cameras, their trunks are wrapped with heating wire underneath the jacket.

From BBC

Some have even apparently imitated Hervé Villechaize shouting “Da plane, boss, da plane,” as they refer to Vance, though I’m told “discretion is advised” when and where such jokes are made.

From Salon

Whenever she shares a recipe or a baked creation, hundreds of fans rush to imitate it.

From Salon

Related Words

• act like www.thesaurus.com
• ape 
• assume 
• duplicate 
• echo 
• emulate 
• impersonate 
• mimic 
• mirror 
• mock 
• pretend 
• replicate 
• reproduce 
• resemble 
• simulate