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
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From 1945 to 1971, pregnant mothers who wanted to prevent miscarriages were prescribed the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES).—
Shanti Escalante-De Mattei,
ARTnews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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To address this, Cotton Incorporated collaborated with leading global researchers to quantify plastic leakage across both cotton and synthetic value chains, spanning fast fashion and more traditional apparel categories.—
Angela Velasquez,
Footwear News,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
It’s supposed to be mimetic of speech.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
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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
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On Thursday, before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Kimmel poked fun at the event on his late night show, sharing faux remarks for his own dinner.—
McKinley Franklin,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Apr. 2026
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As for less-invasive bedroom ceiling upgrade options, Cunningham recommends faux beams, tongue-and-groove ceilings, limewash paint, or simple medallions around light fixtures.—
Kamron Sanders,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
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
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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
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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
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But attracting hummingbirds is probably more formulaic than that, and likely has everything to do with hummingbird nectar, rather than the divine.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Neuroscientists have found that these events at dendrites can allow even single neurons to perform complex computations — meaning that dendrites are the reason why a single neuron can have the same amount of computational power as a deep artificial neural network.—
Yasemin Saplakoglu,
Quanta Magazine,
24 Apr. 2026
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For $150, a homebuyer in escrow can buy a report from the artificial-intelligence fueled HOASnapshot.—
Amancai Biraben,
Oc Register,
24 Apr. 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
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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
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Between theater games, fake-blood logistics and a Grim Reaper costume, the teens begin to deal with their secrets and the truth of one fateful night.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
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Police believe most of the ransom notes received were fake.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
24 Apr. 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 2 May. 2026.
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