Dictionary

imitate en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈɪmɪteɪt/ (US)
• (US) audio

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin imitātus, perfect active participle of imitor (“to copy, portray, imitate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French imiter.

Meanings

1. To follow as a model or a pattern; to make a copy, counterpart or semblance of.
   • A wave simulator in the tank can re-enact tsunamis and northeasters, and imitate wave conditions from midocean. 2007 February 20, Tina Kelley, “A Wet Wind Tunnel So Ships Can Move Faster and Better”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 18 Dec 2022:
   • The room was dark and cool, lit with a dim red light. “This was designed to imitate a cave,” said Rosas. 2019 August 21, Tik Root, “Inside the Race to Build the World's First Commercial Octopus Farm”, in TIME, archived from the original on 28 Aug 2019:
   • Another bird quickly learned to imitate the song of a canary that was mated with it, but as the parrakeet improved in the performance the canary degenerated, and came at last to mingle the other bird's harsh chitterings with its own proper music. 1870, Shirley Hibberd, Rustic Adornments for Homes of Taste, page 170:

Forms

Antonyms

innovate · create

Deriveds

misimitate · overimitate · unimitating · imitatee · self-imitate · counterimitate · unimitated

Relateds

fake · imitative · decoy · imitation · lie · imitable · imitator

Synonyms

ape · ditto · mock · copy · parallel · mime · emulate · imitate · mimic · mirror · echo · simulate · match · reproduce

Translations (69)

nl imiteren (to follow as a model) · fr imiter (to follow as a model) · be перайма́ць (to follow as a model) · de nachahmen (to follow as a model) · tr öykünmek (to follow as a model) · fi matkia (to follow as a model) · be імітава́ць (to follow as a model) · gl arremedar (to follow as a model) · hi अनुकरण करना (to follow as a model) · sw iga (to follow as a model) · bg имити́рам (to follow as a model) · ru подража́ть (to follow as a model) · cmn 模擬 /模拟 (to follow as a model) · arz قلد (to follow as a model) · gl imitar (to follow as a model) · et matkima (to follow as a model) · eo imiti (to follow as a model) · vi theo đòi (to follow as a model) · ms tiru (to follow as a model) · ar قَلَّدَ (to follow as a model) · cs napodobit (to follow as a model) · pl imitować (to follow as a model) · sl posnemati (to follow as a model) · swb utiba (to follow as a model) · ang onhyrian (to follow as a model) · vi bắt chước (to follow as a model) · ast imitar (to follow as a model) · sv imitera (to follow as a model) · bg подража́вам (to follow as a model) · ru имити́ровать (to follow as a model) · ja 模倣する (to follow as a model) · hu imitál (to follow as a model) · af naboots (to follow as a model) · pt imitar (to follow as a model) · uk наслі́дувати (to follow as a model) · vi nhái (to follow as a model) · tr taklit etmek (to follow as a model) · th เลียน (to follow as a model) · mi whakatau (to follow as a model) · es imitar (to follow as a model) · uk імітува́ти (to follow as a model) · hy ընդօրինակել (to follow as a model) · sl oponašati (to follow as a model) · te అనుకరించు (to follow as a model) · km ធ្វើត្រាប់តាម (to follow as a model) · sl imitirati (to follow as a model) · af namaak (to follow as a model) · it imitare (to follow as a model) · ko 본뜨다 (to follow as a model) · sv imitera (to follow as a model) · pl udawać (to follow as a model) · de imitieren (to follow as a model) · ja 真似る (to follow as a model) · pl naśladować (to follow as a model) · hu utánoz (to follow as a model) · acw قَلَّد (to follow as a model) · ja 倣う (to follow as a model) · tr örnek almak (to follow as a model) · la imitor (to follow as a model) · nl nabootsen (to follow as a model) · ko 흉내내다 (to follow as a model) · th เลียนแบบ (to follow as a model) · sv härma (to follow as a model) · ca imitar (to follow as a model) · uk удава́ти (to follow as a model) · af na-aap (to follow as a model) · km ត្រាប់ (to follow as a model) · vec recavar (to follow as a model) · hi अनुकृति करना (to follow as a model)