1
as in imitation
using or marked by the use of something else as a basis or model
your writing style tends to be imitative of whichever author you've recently read
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2
as in synthetic
being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials
an imitative extract never has the flavor of the real thing
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Recent Examples of imitative
Conversations in dorm rooms and lecture halls consist of roughly 97% university-loathing and imitative protests to fire coaches and athletic directors.
—
Noah White, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
Third-party imitative learning from an immigrating parrot’s flockmates may facilitate overall group integration and social bonding and may even give rise to cultural conventions of coordinated movements or gestures.
—Grrlscientist, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
In Roeck’s picture, competitive, rather than imitative, habits of mind rose from religious warfare, establishing a cutthroat system of cultural and economic innovation which lasts to this day.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
Nautilus is bold in its changes to Captain Nemo’s story — new monsters, new villains — but imitative to other genre series in execution, and the vibe is a little didactic.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for imitative
Noah White, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
Third-party imitative learning from an immigrating parrot’s flockmates may facilitate overall group integration and social bonding and may even give rise to cultural conventions of coordinated movements or gestures.
—Grrlscientist, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
In Roeck’s picture, competitive, rather than imitative, habits of mind rose from religious warfare, establishing a cutthroat system of cultural and economic innovation which lasts to this day.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
Nautilus is bold in its changes to Captain Nemo’s story — new monsters, new villains — but imitative to other genre series in execution, and the vibe is a little didactic.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for imitative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imitative
Adjective
-
Cole’s canvases were synthetic constructions teeming with homilies.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
This organic approach supports healthier harvests while reducing reliance on synthetic pest control methods.—
Barbara Gillette,
The Spruce,
3 May 2026
Adjective
-
It’s supposed to be mimetic of speech.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
-
One of the most delightful examples of mimetic architecture along Route 66, this West Hollywood gem does exactly what the structure suggests: serves mouthwatering hot dogs.—
Zoey Goto,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The former Sidos space has been transformed into a restaurant with neon signs, faux greenery, tapestries depicting temples and spiral light fixtures.—
Jenna Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
5 May 2026
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The production is staged in the faux Pantages Theater in the Hollywood section of the theme park, near Mel’s Drive-In restaurant.—
Dewayne Bevil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 May 2026
Adjective
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While many hospitality programs offer simulated environments, our students step directly into Miami, the ultimate hospitality laboratory.—
Dr. Michael Cheng,
Miami Herald,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The simulated winds, which in a recent test purposefully fluctuated between 30 and 55 mph (50 to 90 kph), continually pushed the flames toward the home.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
For years, tech experts like Hinton predicted displacement by AI partly because some radiologists’ tasks are seemingly formulaic and repetitive, such as reading scans and writing reports.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
4 May 2026
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The other side sees it as an existential threat that could eliminate countless jobs, suck the heart and soul out of film production, and generate dull, formulaic content that will continue to drive audiences away from theaters.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The wayward booster was spotted by independent astronomer Bill Gray, who develops and sells software dedicated to tracking celestial objects both artificial and natural.—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
1 May 2026
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That there is no need to fill consciousness at all moments with the artificial urgencies of screens, of emails, of texts, of social media; the real urgencies of the bright-eyed woodpecker above my head will always be vastly more interesting.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
Adjective
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Analysts published mock drafts with the Panthers taking Jordyn Tyson and Omar Cooper Jr.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The segment was the comedian's mock alternative speech to the White House Correspondents' dinner, which aired two days before the real event the Trumps attended together ended in gunfire.—
Mandalit del Barco,
NPR,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Artificial Plants Designer Ashley Hauza says a fake ficus tree on a porch isn't going to fool anyone.—
Tessa Cooper,
The Spruce,
1 May 2026
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Horrified that there was no way to ensure the images hadn’t left his computer and no path to stop the man from continuing to generate fake nudes, the women joined Maye Quade in advancing the law to shut down the problem at its source.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
1 May 2026
Video
A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia
Some imitative words are more surprising than others
Cite this Entry
“Imitative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imitative. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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