imitate
pronunciation
How to pronounce imitate in British English:
UK [ˈɪmɪteɪt]
How to pronounce imitate in American English:
US [ˈɪmɪteɪt]
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- Verb:
- reproduce someone's behavior or looks
- appear like, as in behavior or appearance
- make a reproduction or copy of
Word Origin
- imitate
- imitate: [16] Latin imitāri meant ‘make a copy of’. It was formed from the base *im-, which also lies behind the Latin ancestors of English emulate [16] and image; all three words share the basic meaning element ‘likeness’. English acquired the word via the Latin past participle imitātus.=> emulate, image
- imitate (v.)
- 1530s, a back-formation from imitation or imitator, or else from Latin imitatus. Related: Imitated; imitating. An Old English word for this was æfterhyrigan.
Example
- 1. Have art students emulate and imitate work by masters .
- 2. Other developed countries should imitate this model , rather than bashing it .
- 3. See if you can imitate that person 's best qualities .
- 4. Japan 's ability to imitate outside models was mistaken for progress .
- 5. Life doesn 't imitate art , it imitates bad television .