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Synonyms

apish

American  
[ey-pish] / ˈeɪ pɪʃ /

adjective

  1. having the qualities, appearance, or ways of an ape.

  2. slavishly imitative.

  3. foolishly affected; silly.


apish British  
/ ˈeɪpɪʃ /

adjective

  1. stupid; foolish

  2. resembling an ape

  3. slavishly imitative

"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

Other Word Forms

  • apishly adverb
  • apishness noun

Etymology

Origin of apish

First recorded in 1525–35; ape + -ish 1

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.

The shoulders were apish too, and the widely flaring blades of the pelvis were as primitive as Lucy’s—but the bottom of the same pelvis looked like a modern human’s.

From National Geographic • Sep. 10, 2015

According to evolutionary theorists , we probably owe these unsavory blemishes to our having lost our apish pelts too rapidly for our own good.

From Slate • Apr. 19, 2011

It is while the apish comedian is stamping around making chests and defiantly crying: "I'm a machador, I'm a machador!" that his real opponent, a large fat steer, cautiously muzzles up to him.

From Time Magazine Archive

But unlike its apish kin, it had a clearly human characteristic.

From Time Magazine Archive

The droning of this arrant humbug drives as many of the audience away as the zany's merry pranks and roguish whiskers and apish tricks have drawn together.

From The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi; Volume the First by Gozzi, Carlo