mimicry

[mim-ik-ree]

See more synonyms for mimicry on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural mim·ic·ries.

the act, practice, or art of mimicking.
Biology. the close external resemblance of an organism, the mimic, to some different organism, the model, such that the mimic benefits from the mistaken identity, as seeming to be unpalatable or harmful.
an instance, performance, or result of mimicking.

Origin of mimicry

First recorded in 1680–90; mimic + -ry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for mimicry

pastiche, pretense, imitation, mockery, apery, caricature, camouflage, parody, posture, mimesis, aping, parroting, mocking, mimetism, mimicking

Examples from the Web for mimicry

Contemporary Examples of mimicry

Mimicry is an ingenious survival technique, albeit one that is of little use against bulldozers and chainsaws.
Exploring the Amazon, While We Still Can
Darrell Hartman
May 15, 2014
But this was an element of Jeff that I understood; his mimicry and his retention for music and melody.
‘Greetings From Tim Buckley’: Penn Badgley on Playing Late Musician Jeff Buckley
Richard Porton
April 30, 2013

Historical Examples of mimicry

But she brought nothing back except her mimicry of the man's manner.
The Christian
Hall Caine
The children lie in ambush and fall upon one another in the mimicry of hunting.
The Children
Alice Meynell
Let us take the cases of mimicry amongst lepidoptera and other insects.
On the Genesis of Species
St. George Mivart
No fact of your letter has interested me more than that about mimicry.
The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Volume II (of II)
Charles Darwin
Terry's voice deepened in mimicry: "'No petticoats for mine!'"
Terry
Charles Goff Thomson

British Dictionary definitions for mimicry

mimicry

noun plural -ries

the act or art of copying or imitating closely; mimicking
the resemblance shown by one animal species, esp an insect, to another, which protects it from predators

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 mimicry

1680s, from mimic + -ry. Zoological sense is from 1861.

mimicry in Medicine

mimicry

[mĭm′ĭ-krē]

The resemblance of one organism to another or to an object in its surroundings for concealment and protection.

mimicry in Science

mimicry

[mĭm′ĭ-krē]

The resemblance of one organism to another or to an object in its surroundings for concealment or protection from predators. See also aggressive mimicry Batesian mimicry Müllerian mimicry.