imitate
verb
im·i·tate ˈi-mə-ˌtāt 
imitated; imitating
transitive verb
1
: to follow as a pattern, model, or example
2
: mimic, counterfeit
can imitate his father's booming voice
3
: to be or appear like : resemble
4
: to produce a copy of : reproduce
imitator
ˈi-mə-ˌtā-tər
noun 
Synonyms
- ape
- copy
- copycat
- emulate
- mime
- mimic
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Her style has been imitated by many other writers. He's very good at imitating his father's voice. She can imitate the calls of many different birds.
Recent Examples on the Web Due to a boom in online payday lending companies in recent years, hackers are able to steal data and more easily imitate real lenders. 
Katie Wedell, USA TODAY, 1 Sep. 2022 The company’s popular Adamantine black mantel clocks used a patented celluloid veneer made to imitate wood grain, onyx or marble and glued to a wood case. oregonlive, 3 Jan. 2022 Life doesn't exactly imitate art for Paris Jackson these days. Brianne Tracy, Peoplemag, 25 Aug. 2022 The robot, which holds six balls in a revolving cartridge, could also imitate a quarterback’s style including the speed, arc and timing of a throw. Laura Stevens, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022 The hyper-realistic then tries to imitate the British musician, showing her best, robotic dance moves. Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2022 The shoulders, for example, imitate the shapes of snakes in relief while, on the edge of the garment, a colorful border is inspired by coral snakes. Fernanda Pérez Sánchez, Vogue, 8 Aug. 2022 America’s industrial-policy advocates see China as a technological juggernaut whose government direction the U.S. must imitate or become a declining power. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2022 In addition to generating tweets and blog posts and beginning to imitate conversation, systems built by labs like OpenAI can generate images. New York Times, 5 Aug. 2022 See More
Katie Wedell, USA TODAY, 1 Sep. 2022 The company’s popular Adamantine black mantel clocks used a patented celluloid veneer made to imitate wood grain, onyx or marble and glued to a wood case. oregonlive, 3 Jan. 2022 Life doesn't exactly imitate art for Paris Jackson these days. Brianne Tracy, Peoplemag, 25 Aug. 2022 The robot, which holds six balls in a revolving cartridge, could also imitate a quarterback’s style including the speed, arc and timing of a throw. Laura Stevens, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022 The hyper-realistic then tries to imitate the British musician, showing her best, robotic dance moves. Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2022 The shoulders, for example, imitate the shapes of snakes in relief while, on the edge of the garment, a colorful border is inspired by coral snakes. Fernanda Pérez Sánchez, Vogue, 8 Aug. 2022 America’s industrial-policy advocates see China as a technological juggernaut whose government direction the U.S. must imitate or become a declining power. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2022 In addition to generating tweets and blog posts and beginning to imitate conversation, systems built by labs like OpenAI can generate images. New York Times, 5 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Latin imitātus, past participle of imitārī "to follow as a pattern, copy," frequentative derivative of a presumed verb *imā- "make a copy," perhaps going back to Indo-European *h2im-, whence also Hittite hima-, himma- "substitute, replica, toy"
Note: Aside from Hittite, evidence for an etymon *h2im- is lacking. See also etymology and note at emulous.
First Known Use
1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
imitate
verb
im·i·tate ˈi-mə-ˌtāt
imitated; imitating
1
: to follow as a pattern, model, or example
He tried to imitate the older boys.
2
: to be or appear like : resemble
The vinyl imitates leather.
3
: to copy exactly : mimic
She can imitate bird calls.
imitating
verb
1
as in emulating
to use (someone or something) as the model for one's speech, mannerisms, or behavior teenage musicians who imitate whichever rock stars are hot Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- emulating
- copying
- mimicking
- aping
- mocking
- miming
- repeating
- parodying
- echoing
- copycatting
- performing
- playing
- caricaturing
- lampooning
- impersonating
- pantomiming
- burlesquing
- reechoing
- dittoing
- travestying
2
as in parodying
to copy or exaggerate (someone or something) in order to make fun of imitating someone's stutter and laughing at them is a cruel thing to do Synonyms & Similar Words
- parodying
- mocking
- doing
- mimicking
- spoofing
- caricaturing
- emulating
- burlesquing
- simulating
- travestying
- playing
- ridiculing
- reproducing
- performing
- sending up
- pretending
- satirizing
- aping
- replicating
- deriding
- lampooning
- duplicating
- parroting
- acting
- copycatting
- enhancing
- gibing
- feigning
- miming
- personating
- monkeying
- pantomiming
- jibing
- stretching
- faking
- shamming
- exaggerating
- elaborating
- embroidering
- counterfeiting
- impersonating
- embellishing
- amplifying
- expanding
- dissembling
- padding
- pasquinading
- overstating
- magnifying
- playing up
- overdrawing
- putting on
- enlarging (on or upon)
- fleshing (out)
3
as in copying
to make an exact likeness of a second-rate artist who was notorious for imitating the works of other painters Synonyms & Similar Words
- copying
- reproducing
- replicating
- rendering
- duplicating
- cloning
- recreating
- simulating
- mimicking
- copycatting
- reconstructing
- reduplicating
- forging
- counterfeiting
- faking
- re-creating
- ripping off
- knocking off
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- creating
- originating
- imagining
- inventing
- initiating