imitation

[im-i-tey-shuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR imitation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

adjective

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).

Origin of imitation

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin imitātiōn- (stem of imitātiō). See imitate, -ion

Related formsim·i·ta·tion·al, adjectivenon·im·i·ta·tion·al, adjectiveo·ver·im·i·ta·tion, nounpre·im·i·ta·tion, nounself-im·i·ta·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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.
The Postman Who Built a Palace in France…by Hand
Nina Strochlic
November 20, 2014
If imitation is the highest form of flattery, this is high praise.
The Stoner's Guide to the Internet
Abby Haglage
August 6, 2014
The very faculty of language is, to a large extent, a matter of imitation.
You Can’t ‘Steal’ a Culture: In Defense of Cultural Appropriation
John McWhorter
July 15, 2014
It used to be that we said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
You Can’t ‘Steal’ a Culture: In Defense of Cultural Appropriation
John McWhorter
July 15, 2014
But now there is new way to see the matter: Imitation is a kind of dismissal.
You Can’t ‘Steal’ a Culture: In Defense of Cultural Appropriation
John McWhorter
July 15, 2014

Historical Examples of imitation

And so he acted as a child acts, in imitation of what it has seen others do.
The Monster Men
Edgar Rice Burroughs
"You 'tend to your own troubles," returned the other, with an imitation of liveliness.
The Gentleman From Indiana
Booth Tarkington
We cannot suppose that any one can really mean to exclude all imitation of others.
Albert Durer
T. Sturge Moore
I am now giving an imitation of yourself in your thrilling drama, "All at Sea."
A Woman Intervenes
Robert Barr
I suggested an imitation of the equipment of the French infantry.
Diary from November 12, 1862, to October 18, 1863
Adam Gurowski

British Dictionary definitions for imitation

imitation

noun

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

Derived Formsimitational, adjective

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

Word Origin and History for imitation

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.