How to Use imitation in a Sentence

imitation

noun
  • Children learn by imitation of adults.
  • He did a hilarious imitation of his father.
  • The real diamonds are in a museum. These are just imitations.
  • The restaurant was designed in imitation of a Japanese temple.
  • Thames dropped to his knees, near the imitation firearm on the ground.
    — Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026
  • It's made with ultra-soft imitation fur to keep your pup warm and cozy.
    — Jessica Moore, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Our poster is an homage not an imitation, to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me.
    — Zack Sharf, Variety, 24 Nov. 2025
  • Flocked trees sprayed with imitation snow are treated as garbage.
    — Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 4 Jan. 2026
  • The bold types will like how these combat boots stand out thanks to the imitation pearl studs along the lacing.
    — Sarah Byron, Peoplemag, 28 Nov. 2022
  • Due to their high prices, Banksy pieces have been subject to imitation and forgery in the past.
    — Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2024
  • Tim said in one of those videos that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
    — David MacK, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
  • At least four states are already cracking down on imitations.
    — Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 21 June 2023
  • For these types of recipes, the vanillin flavor of imitation vanilla can perform just as well.
    — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 22 Nov. 2025
  • Homage, though, doesn’t mean imitation.
    — Justin Davidson, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
  • Pollock is the fish most often used in surimi, or imitation crab.
    — Julia Dowling Rutland, Southern Living, 12 July 2023
  • This respect need not and should not morph into blind adoration and imitation of the past.
    — Adam M. Carrington, National Review, 17 Dec. 2023
  • The bass were looking for crayfish, and popping this bait near rocks was a great imitation of a fleeing craw.
    — Max Inchausti, Field & Stream, 23 Jan. 2023
  • So when the weight-loss imitations started to trickle in last year, his team sprung into action.
    — Ashleigh Furlong, Fortune Europe, 13 Mar. 2024
  • His imitation of her reaction was pure vaudeville and had the girls in stitches.
    — Larry David, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Robots may soon learn new skills faster and with far less training, thanks to advances in imitation learning.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 15 Apr. 2026
  • So why not use it as the base for an imitation game between all three of these image generators?
    — Matt Crisara, Popular Mechanics, 25 Apr. 2023
  • So there’s not any imitation, but a transformation of it.
    — Sarah Mower, Vogue, 3 Oct. 2025
  • With a little tuning on the audio side, the sour fruit is now a gag-worthy imitation of a gurgling death.
    — WIRED, 7 Feb. 2023
  • Actual crab meat, of course, is fine, but imitation crab often contains gluten, since it's made with starch.
    — Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 25 July 2023
  • And the guy who loved John Wayne movies and came to do a fine imitation reckoned his should be in that spirit.
    — Vahe Gregorian july 5, Kansas City Star, 5 July 2026
  • As noted earlier, both the left- and right-clickers now come wrapped in imitation leather.
    — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 14 Mar. 2026
  • This convergence is not a crude imitation.
    — Big Think, 20 Mar. 2026
  • Russia has long been an imitation culture.
    — Nina Khrushcheva, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Kids have been known to pick up a vape and begin puffing, in imitation of their parents, Calello said.
    — Liz Szabo | Kff Health News, NBC News, 1 Aug. 2023
  • That's perhaps too harsh, but the 190 does risk coming off as an imitation of a prestige car.
    — Kevin Smith, Car and Driver, 24 June 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'imitation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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