imitation [im-i-tey -shuh n]
Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for imitation on Thesaurus.com a result or product of imitating. the act of imitating. a counterfeit; copy. a literary composition that imitates the manner or subject of another author or work. Biology mimicry . Psychology the performance of an act whose stimulus is the observation of the act performed by another person. Sociology the copying of patterns of activity and thought of other groups or individuals. Art (in Aristotelian aesthetics) the representation of an object or an action as it ought to be. the representation of actuality in art or literature. Music the repetition of a melodic phrase at a different pitch or key from the original or in a different voice part. Show More
designed to imitate a genuine or superior article or thing: imitation leather. Jewelry noting an artificial gem no part of which is of the true gemstone. Compare assembled , synthetic(def 5) . Show More
Origin of imitation 1350–1400; Middle English <
Latin imitātiōn- (stem of
imitātiō ). See
imitate ,
-ion Related forms im·i·ta·tion·al , adjective non·im·i·ta·tion·al , adjective o·ver·im·i·ta·tion , noun pre·im·i·ta·tion , noun self-im·i·ta·tion , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for imitation impersonation ,
reflection ,
impression ,
clone ,
replica ,
reproduction ,
mimicry ,
parody ,
ringer ,
image ,
fake ,
dupe ,
takeoff ,
counterfeit ,
simulacrum ,
resemblance ,
forgery ,
duplicate ,
travesty ,
match Examples from the Web for imitation Contemporary Examples of imitation There are Egyptian influences and an imitation Hindu temple.
If imitation is the highest form of flattery, this is high praise.
The very faculty of language is, to a large extent, a matter of imitation .
It used to be that we said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
But now there is new way to see the matter: Imitation is a kind of dismissal.
Historical Examples of imitation And so he acted as a child acts, in imitation of what it has seen others do.
"You 'tend to your own troubles," returned the other, with an imitation of liveliness.
We cannot suppose that any one can really mean to exclude all imitation of others.
I am now giving an imitation of yourself in your thrilling drama, "All at Sea."
I suggested an imitation of the equipment of the French infantry.
British Dictionary definitions for imitation the act, practice, or art of imitating; mimicry an instance or product of imitating, such as a copy of the manner of a person; impression a copy or reproduction of a genuine article; counterfeit (as modifier ) imitation jewellery (in contrapuntal or polyphonic music) the repetition of a phrase or figure in one part after its appearance in another, as in a fugue a literary composition that adapts the style of an older work to the writer's own purposes Show More
Derived Forms imitational , adjective Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for imitation n. c.1400, "emulation; act of copying," from Old French imitacion , from Latin imitationem (nominative imitatio ) "a copying, imitation," from past participle stem of imitari "to copy, portray, imitate," from PIE *im-eto- , from root *aim- "copy" (cf. Hittite himma- "imitation, substitute"). Meaning "an artificial likeness" is from c.1600. As an adjective, from 1840.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
