imitate
verb
im·i·tate
ˈi-mə-ˌtāt 
imitated; imitating
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
Examples of imitate in a Sentence
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
Another, Voice of Atwood, claims to imitate the writer Margaret Atwood.
—
Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 4 Apr. 2024
New stand-outs include the toro no toro, in which locally caught kingfish is enhanced with Flemish Holstein beef to imitate the fat of tuna belly and topped with Royal Belgian Caviar.
—Mary Winston Nicklin, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Apr. 2024
For The Bear actor Lionel Boyce, art has imitated life.
—Meredith Lepore, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2024
Of course, Sweeney isn’t the first to try to conjure the likeness of the world’s most famous starlet — Anna Nicole Smith, Kim Kardashian, Madonna, Beyoncé and even James Franco are just a few who have purposefully imitated Monroe’s platinum coiffure and scarlet lips.
—Leah Dolan, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024
As the coaches sat on a bench, with iPads in hand, Ohtani grabbed his bat and imitated his batting stance.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
While some spiders in the Corinnidae, Thomisidae, and Zodariidae families also mimic ants, other spiders imitate wasps, beetles, and flies — an indication that there are plenty of menacing critters out there, even if spiders aren’t one of them.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024
In January, a deepfake robocall that phoned thousands of New Hampshire Democrats imitated Joe Biden’s voice with AI and told them not to vote in the primary election.
—Kevin Collier, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2024
Now, his literary guardians have put in front of the world the indignity of García Márquez imitating himself.
—Michael Greenberg, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024
Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 4 Apr. 2024
New stand-outs include the toro no toro, in which locally caught kingfish is enhanced with Flemish Holstein beef to imitate the fat of tuna belly and topped with Royal Belgian Caviar.
—Mary Winston Nicklin, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Apr. 2024
For The Bear actor Lionel Boyce, art has imitated life.
—Meredith Lepore, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2024
Of course, Sweeney isn’t the first to try to conjure the likeness of the world’s most famous starlet — Anna Nicole Smith, Kim Kardashian, Madonna, Beyoncé and even James Franco are just a few who have purposefully imitated Monroe’s platinum coiffure and scarlet lips.
—Leah Dolan, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024
As the coaches sat on a bench, with iPads in hand, Ohtani grabbed his bat and imitated his batting stance.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
While some spiders in the Corinnidae, Thomisidae, and Zodariidae families also mimic ants, other spiders imitate wasps, beetles, and flies — an indication that there are plenty of menacing critters out there, even if spiders aren’t one of them.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024
In January, a deepfake robocall that phoned thousands of New Hampshire Democrats imitated Joe Biden’s voice with AI and told them not to vote in the primary election.
—Kevin Collier, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2024
Now, his literary guardians have put in front of the world the indignity of García Márquez imitating himself.
—Michael Greenberg, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'imitate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near imitate
Cite this Entry
“Imitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imitate. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
imitate
verb
im·i·tate
ˈim-ə-ˌtāt
imitated; imitating
1
: to follow as a pattern, model, or example
2
: to be or appear similar to
3
: to copy exactly
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