as in imitators
a person who adopts the appearance or behavior of another especially in an obvious way
every rock singer who makes it big soon has a whole cluster of copycats
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in copies
to make an exact likeness of
asked her stylist to copycat a hairstyle from the magazine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imitates
to use (someone or something) as the model for one's speech, mannerisms, or behavior
a performer who slavishly copycats another never rises to the level of true stardom
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of copycats
Danielle Paquette The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 12 Apr. 2026
Other internet critics slammed his great-uncle’s creation as touristy, insisting diners could find tastier versions among the legion of copycats.
—Danielle Paquette, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2026
And just as Elon Musk’s initial moonshot package spawned a whole class of copycats (including Musk’s more recent $1 trillion plan), Ferracone expects other tech companies to mimic Meta’s latest move.
—Claire Zillman, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2026
Tropes, sequels, and even shameless copycats gave me a way to compare craft without getting overwhelmed by just how much movies can mean to me personally.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 27 Mar. 2026
But now that the drugs are no longer in short supply, compounders can no longer legally make copycats, and the FDA is cracking down on the dupes.
—Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 13 Mar. 2026
There are so many copycats, especially with this.
—Preezy Brown, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2026
Concerns about the incident and possible copycats have spread across the area.
—John Dias, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026
The copycats in the lower leagues can’t rely on that, and the football has become distinctly more old-school, with many more headers per game than, say, five years ago.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Noun
Other internet critics slammed his great-uncle's creation as touristy, insisting diners could find tastier versions among the legion of copycats.
—Danielle Paquette The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 12 Apr. 2026
Other internet critics slammed his great-uncle’s creation as touristy, insisting diners could find tastier versions among the legion of copycats.
—Danielle Paquette, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2026
And just as Elon Musk’s initial moonshot package spawned a whole class of copycats (including Musk’s more recent $1 trillion plan), Ferracone expects other tech companies to mimic Meta’s latest move.
—Claire Zillman, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2026
Tropes, sequels, and even shameless copycats gave me a way to compare craft without getting overwhelmed by just how much movies can mean to me personally.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 27 Mar. 2026
But now that the drugs are no longer in short supply, compounders can no longer legally make copycats, and the FDA is cracking down on the dupes.
—Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 13 Mar. 2026
There are so many copycats, especially with this.
—Preezy Brown, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2026
Concerns about the incident and possible copycats have spread across the area.
—John Dias, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026
The copycats in the lower leagues can’t rely on that, and the football has become distinctly more old-school, with many more headers per game than, say, five years ago.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for copycats
Noun
-
Baseball is a copycat league, and success breeds imitators.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
24 Apr. 2026
-
In Karp’s telling, Basquiat is someone who Just Did Things, like today’s defense tech founders, who possess a similar kind of creative conviction, as opposed to the consumer tech imitators of yesteryear.—
Simon Denny,
Artforum,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
On a party count, that is 4-3 for the Dems and the one-for-you, one-for-me bipartisan staffing copies the Board of Elections.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Every time the virus copies itself inside a cell, its genetic material mutates.—
Kyle B. Enfield,
The Conversation,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The pieces are all made from fade- and weather-resistant poly material, which even imitates the look of wood grain for a more stylish finish.—
Paige Bennett,
Better Homes & Gardens,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Aristotle said that art imitates nature (ars imitatur naturam), and for centuries, many artists sought to imitate their subjects as realistically as possible.—
Andrey Mir,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Dukes has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Bishop encouraged followers to abandon their families and join his vision of a would-be utopia.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The test consisted of a 7-MW grid simulator that replicates disturbances and voltage ride-through events, and a 20-MW load simulator that reproduces real-world demand dynamics such as those created by an AI data center.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
29 Apr. 2026
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This includes the importance of gestures such as going to retrieve from the family casket a pin that reproduces the British and American flags together, as well as those that actually fly on the streets of Washington.—
Giorgia Olivieri,
Vanity Fair,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Following film was a full run on the team’s NBA floor rather than the practice facility, which better emulates a game feel.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Instead, the site recommends a homemade mixture consisting of four parts water to one part sugar, which emulates the amount of sugar naturally found in nectar.—
Cheyenne Derksen,
Oklahoman,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The echoes of the past walked through the building, only fitting in a Philly-Boston postseason rivalry.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Her rock-climbing skills also come in handy when she’s trapped in a narrow gorge, and soon after when a hairy ascent provides echoes of the prologue.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Lerner gets plentiful mileage out of his novel’s title, which also connotes the transmission of culture (thought or speech to writing, sound to vinyl) or part of the process whereby DNA replicates.—
Hannah Gold,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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Researchers at the University of Bristol have created a network of simple mechanical motors that replicates how human muscles respond to increasing load.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Copycats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/copycats. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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