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Synonyms

facsimile

American  
[fak-sim-uh-lee] / fækˈsɪm ə li /

noun

  1. an exact copy, as of a book, painting, or manuscript.

    Synonyms:
    duplicate, likeness, replica

  2. Also called fax.  Telecommunications.

    1. a method or device for transmitting documents, drawings, photographs, or the like, by means of radio or telephone for exact reproduction elsewhere.

    2. an image transmitted by such a method.

  3. dropout.

verb (used with object)

facsimiled, facsimileing

  1. to reproduce in facsimile; make a facsimile of.

    Synonyms:
    duplicate

adjective

  1. Telecommunications. Also

    1. (of an image) copied by means of facsimile.

      facsimile mail.

    2. (of a method or device) used to produce a facsimile.

      facsimile transmission.
facsimile British  
/ fækˈsɪmɪlɪ /

noun

    1. an exact copy or reproduction

    2. ( as modifier )

      a facsimile publication

  2. an image produced by facsimile transmission

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to make an exact copy of

"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

Etymology

Origin of facsimile

1655–65; earlier fac simile make the like, equivalent to Latin fac (imperative of facere ) + simile, noun use of neuter of similis like; simile

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.

Fax machines - formally known as facsimile machines - used to be a familiar fixture in offices as well as schools, hospitals and police stations across the country.

From BBC • Jan. 8, 2026

But in the meantime, seasonal enthusiasm for the house could be satisfied by a gingerbread facsimile thereof that was open to the public in Hollywood.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 29, 2025

Given the title, it is hardly a spoiler to say that after Marjorie’s death, Tess overcomes her initial dislike of Primes to have a technological facsimile of her mother join the family.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025

All that isn’t even to mention the cast, who have been photographed for promotional images looking like a facsimile of 2006-era masculinity.

From Salon • Apr. 13, 2025

On its surface, the booming market in side bets on subprime mortgage bonds seemed to be the financial equivalent of fantasy football: a benign, if silly, facsimile of investing.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.