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definitions

apish

[ey-pish]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR apish ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

having the qualities, appearance, or ways of an ape.
slavishly imitative.
foolishly affected; silly.

Origin of apish

First recorded in 1525–35; ape + -ish1
Related formsap·ish·ly, adverbap·ish·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for apish

slavish, emulative

Examples from the Web for apish

Historical Examples of apish

  • This could not be relaxed, for he was full of the most apish tricks.

  • To the west the apish Atlanteans are beginning the long climb upward.

    The Hyborian Age

    Robert E. Howard

  • They got noisy, cheered every apish witticism of the lecturer—oh!

    A Lost Cause

    Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull

  • Do you see how it imitates the divine in an apish sort of way?

    Carmen Ariza

    Charles Francis Stocking

  • His neck and shoulders were brutal, like those of some apish god.

    The Man Who Was Thursday

    G. K. Chesterton

British Dictionary definitions for apish

apish

adjective

stupid; foolish
resembling an ape
slavishly imitative
Derived Formsapishly, adverbapishness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012