imitating

verb

present participle of imitate
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

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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
3
as in copying
to make an exact likeness of a second-rate artist who was notorious for imitating the works of other painters

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of imitating Rather than simply imitating the brain with silicon chips, the approach uses actual neurons to perform computational work. — Mike McRae 19, New Atlas, 20 Oct. 2026 OpenAI denied intentionally imitating Johansson’s voice and later withdrew the feature. — ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026 Speaking of the oversized, the collection’s Handloom Cardigan fits the bill but spares you from imitating a balloon, courtesy of those vertical stripes (also known as the oldest optical trick in the fashion book). — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026 Her makeup could not be prettier or more ideal for imitating, with its barely-there shimmer shadow, the softest possible wing, and gloss in what appears to be her natural lip color. — Marci Robin, Allure, 27 Sep. 2026 The league immediately decided Juszczyk was imitating drinking beer. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2026 In a case of life imitating art, the real-life age gap between actors Reinhart and Bateman is pretty close to that of Olive and Adam. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 25 Sep. 2026 Rather than taking advantage of genuine quantum effects, Scholes proposes, life might be imitating them instead. — Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 23 Sep. 2026 One year later, Clooney, 65, is back at the Venice Film Festival for a spin in the spotlight on the opening night for a bit of life imitating art. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imitating
  1. emulating
  2. parodying
  3. copying
  4. mimicking
  5. mocking
  6. reproducing
  7. doing
  8. replicating
Verb
  • There are also two shallow soaking pools to enjoy—one acts as a wave pool, emulating the rocking of the ship.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • AeroSHARK achieves a similar effect by emulating nature's design.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of emulating
Verb
  • The latter went from working on Star Trek properties (Next Gen, Voyager, Enterprise) to parodying them with MacFarlane on The Orville.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The White House announced Arcade on social media with a series of animations parodying Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo loading screens.
    — Lou Kesten, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of parodying
Verb
  • Even more concerning, the fake installer shows one command on the screen while secretly copying another.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Founder Yang Tao said the goal extends beyond copying human anatomy.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of copying
Verb
  • The novel was also partly epistolary, including segments of fictional court transcripts and news coverage created by King (who enjoyed mimicking different writing styles).
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026
  • In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Germany and the United States surpassed the United Kingdom economically, not simply by mimicking it but by taking its innovations further.
    — NIALL FERGUSON, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of mimicking
Verb
  • There were earlier versions of this story that were openly mocking of Kip, versions that threw Leo under the bus for being too sly; versions that were too overtly political; versions with ghosts that didn’t need to be there, and so on.
    — Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Reels captured everything from dancing and DJ parties at protest sites to songs mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
    — Ayushi Shah, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of mocking
Verb
  • Turning chemical signals into digital instructions Recreating smell presents a different challenge from reproducing images or sound.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The likelier explanation, Seth said, is that the models have absorbed a great deal of information about how humans describe and respond to pain and are reproducing it.
    — Shae Lake, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of reproducing
Verb
  • In 2025 the hyperscalers alone poured more than $300 billion into data centers, chips, and grid capacity, and that spend is doing real work in the top-line growth figures.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • What employers are doing Kostka says there have recently been fewer health insurers in her area to choose from.
    — Alana Semuels, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of doing
Verb
  • Rather than replicating the formula of an international luxury chain, Elegance has built its reputation on intimate hotels that celebrate Vietnamese hospitality, thoughtful design, and sense of place.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
  • His work is crisp, playful, and nostalgic, replicating the exact fonts and presentations of centuries-old stylings for businesses and public parks alike.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of replicating

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imitates
imitating
imitation
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Cite this Entry

“Imitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imitating. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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