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View synonyms for imitation

imitation

[ im-i-tey-shuhn ]

noun

  1. a result or product of imitating.
  2. the act of imitating.
  3. a counterfeit; copy.
  4. a literary composition that imitates the manner or subject of another author or work.
  5. Biology. mimicry.
  6. Psychology. the performance of an act whose stimulus is the observation of the act performed by another person.
  7. Sociology. the copying of patterns of activity and thought of other groups or individuals.
  8. Art.
    1. (in Aristotelian aesthetics) the representation of an object or an action as it ought to be.
    2. the representation of actuality in art or literature.
  9. Music. the repetition of a melodic phrase at a different pitch or key from the original or in a different voice part.


adjective

  1. designed to imitate a genuine or superior article or thing:

    imitation leather.

  2. Jewelry. noting an artificial gem no part of which is of the true gemstone. Compare assembled, synthetic ( def 5 ).

imitation

/ ˌɪmɪˈteɪʃən /

noun

  1. the act, practice, or art of imitating; mimicry
  2. an instance or product of imitating, such as a copy of the manner of a person; impression
    1. a copy or reproduction of a genuine article; counterfeit
    2. ( as modifier )

      imitation jewellery

  3. (in contrapuntal or polyphonic music) the repetition of a phrase or figure in one part after its appearance in another, as in a fugue
  4. a literary composition that adapts the style of an older work to the writer's own purposes


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Derived Forms

  • ˌimiˈtational, adjective

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Other Words From

  • imi·tation·al adjective
  • nonim·i·tation·al adjective
  • over·imi·tation noun
  • preim·i·tation noun
  • self-imi·tation noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of imitation1

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin imitātiōn- (stem of imitātiō ). See imitate, -ion

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Example Sentences

It’s a trend that will likely accelerate over the next five years, particularly when 5G takes center stage and robotics as a field leaves behind imitation and evolves independently.

The company’s flagship imitation beef product went on sale in 200 supermarkets across Hong Kong and Singapore on Tuesday.

From Fortune

What Anna and Seth have really been able to show is how imitation works and what the contagion effect looks like on the ground.

The star machine of late-night television has become a pale imitation of itself, turning former supernova-caliber appearances into mediocre Skype calls and half-hearted attempts at staging a “feels-live” show.

A representation provides a simplified picture of a group, just as a grayscale photo can serve as a low-cost imitation of the original color image.

There are Egyptian influences and an imitation Hindu temple.

As if, after all the above, one would want anything that reeked of lifeless imitation.

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, this is high praise.

The very faculty of language is, to a large extent, a matter of imitation.

It used to be that we said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

The Spaniards since have substituted paper for the leaves of maize, in imitation of them.

The culture of expression is a very different thing from the artful imitation of the signs of feeling and purpose.

Impersonation may be more easily achieved intellectually, requiring only keen observation and the power of imitation.

Imitation of the ways of their elders doubtless plays a part here, but it is aided by an instinct for adornment.

Like art, too, on its representative side, play aims at producing an imitation or semblance of something.

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imitateimitation doublet