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
3. 1. a copy or reproduction of a genuine article; counterfeit
   2. ( as modifier )

      imitation jewellery

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

Derived Forms

• ˌimiˈtational, adjective

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of imitation¹

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

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.

From Singularity Hub 

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.

From Science News

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.

From Washington Blade

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.

From Quanta Magazine

There are Egyptian influences and an imitation Hindu temple.

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• clone
• impersonation
• impression
• mimicry
• parody
• reflection
• replica
• reproduction