mimic

• POS: Adjective, Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: mim=ic

CIDE DICTIONARY

mimic, a. [L. mimicus, Gr. , fr. mime: cf. F. mimique. See Mime.].

•  Imitative; mimetic.  [1913 Webster]

  "Oft, in her absence, mimic fancy wakes
  To imitate her."  [1913 Webster]

  "Man is, of all creatures, the most mimical."  [1913 Webster]
•  Consisting of, or formed by, imitation; imitated; as, mimic gestures.  Wordsworth.  [1913 Webster]
•  Imitative; characterized by resemblance to other forms; -- applied to crystals which by twinning resemble simple forms of a higher grade of symmetry.  [1913 Webster]

  " Mimic often implies something droll or ludicrous, and is less dignified than imitative."  [1913 Webster]

Mimic beetle (Zoöl.), a beetle that feigns death when disturbed, esp. the species of Hister and allied genera.

mimic, n. 

 One who imitates or mimics, especially one who does so for sport; a copyist; a buffoon.  Burke.  [1913 Webster]

mimic, v. t. 

•  To imitate or ape for sport; to ridicule by imitation.  [1913 Webster]

  "The walk, the words, the gesture, could supply,
  The habit mimic, and the mien belie."  [1913 Webster]
•  To assume a resemblance to (some other organism of a totally different nature, or some surrounding object), as a means of protection or advantage.  [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- To ape; imitate; counterfeit; mock.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

mimic, v., n., & adj.
--v.tr. (mimicked, mimicking)
1 imitate (a person, gesture, etc.) esp. to entertain or ridicule.
2 copy minutely or servilely.
3 (of a thing) resemble closely.
--n. a person skilled in imitation.
--adj. having an aptitude for mimicry; imitating; imitative, esp. for amusement.

Derivative

mimicker n.

Etymology

L mimicus f. Gk mimikos (as MIME)

THESAURUS

mimic

Roscius, act, act a part, act as, act out, actor, actress, antagonist, ape, apish, appear like, approach, approximate, bad guy, barnstormer, be like, be redolent of, bear resemblance, bring to mind, burlesque, call to mind, call up, caricature, caricaturist, character, character actor, character man, character woman, child actor, come close, come near, compare with, conformist, copier, copy, copycat, copyist, correspond, counterfeit, counterfeiter, cuckoo, diseur, diseuse, dissembler, dissimulator, do, dramatizer, duplicate, echo, echoer, echoic, echoist, emulative, enact, evoke, fake, faker, favor, feeder, feigned, foil, follow, forger, heavy, histrio, histrion, hit off, hit off on, hypocrite, imitate, imitation, imitative, imitator, impersonate, impersonator, impostor, impressionist, ingenue, juvenile, lampoon, look like, make fun of, make-believe, masquerade as, match, matinee idol, mime, mimer, mimetic, mimicker, mirror, mock, mocker, mockingbird, monkey, monologist, mum, mummer, near, nearly reproduce, not tell apart, onomatopoeic, onomatopoetic, pantomime, pantomimist, parallel, parodist, parody, parrot, partake of, pass for, perform, performer, personate, phony, plagiarist, play, play a part, playactor, player, poll-parrot, polly, polly-parrot, pose as, poseur, pretend to be, pretended, protean actor, reciter, remind one of, reproduce, resemble, ridicule, satirize, savor of, seem like, sham, sheep, simulate, simulated, simulative, simulator, smack of, soubrette, sound like, stack up with, stage performer, stage player, stooge, straight man, stroller, strolling player, suggest, take after, take off, take off on, theatrical, thespian, travesty, trouper, utility man, villain

ROGET THESAURUS

mimic

The Drama

VB act, play, perform, put on the stage, personate, mimic, enact, play a part, act a part, go through a part, perform a part, rehearse, spout, gag, rant, strut and fret one's hour upon a stage, tread the boards, tread the stage, come out, star it.

Imitation

VB imitate, copy, mirror, reflect, reproduce, repeat, do like, echo, reecho, catch, transcribe, match, parallel, mock, take off, mimic, ape, simulate, impersonate, personate, act, represent, counterfeit, parody, travesty, caricature, lampoon, burlesque, follow in the steps of, tread in the steps, follow in the footsteps of, follow in the wake of, take pattern by, follow suit, follow the example of, walk in the shoes of, take a leaf out of another's book, strike in with, follow suit, take after, model after, emulate.

N imitation, copying, transcription, repetition, duplication, reduplication, quotation, reproduction, mimeograph, xerox, facsimile, reprint, offprint, mockery, mimicry, simulation, impersonation, personation, representation, semblance, copy, assimilation, paraphrase, parody, take-off, lampoon, caricature, plagiarism, forgery, counterfeit, celluloid, imitator, echo, cuckoo, parrot, ape, monkey, mocking bird, mime, copyist, copycat, plagiarist, pirate, imitated, mock, mimic, modelled after, molded on, paraphrastic, literal, imitative, secondhand, imitable, aping, apish, mimicking, literally, to the letter, verbatim, literatim, sic, totidem verbis, word for word, mot a mot, exactly, precisely, like master like man, like - but oh! how different!, genius borrows nobly, pursuing echoes calling 'mong the rocks, quotation confesses inferiority, Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Absence or want of Intellect

N absence of Intellect, want of intellect, imbecility brutality, brute force, instinct, brute instinct, stimulus-response loop, conditioned response, instinctive reaction, Pavlovian response, mimicry, aping (imitation), moron, imbecile, idiot, fool, dumb animal, vegetable, brain dead, Adj, unendowed with reason, void of reason, thoughtless, vegetative, moronic, idiotic, brainless, Adv, instinctively, like Pavlov's dog, vegetatively, unendowed with reason, void of reason, thoughtless, vegetative, moronic, idiotic, brainless, instinctively, like Pavlov's dog, vegetatively, V, mimic, ape (imitate), respond instinctively.

Representation

VB copy, drawing, sketch, drought, draft, plot, chart, figure, scheme, image, likeness, icon, portrait, striking likeness, speaking likeness, very image, effigy, facsimile, figure, figure head, puppet, doll, figurine, aglet, manikin, lay- figure, model, mammet, marionette, fantoccini, waxwork, bust, statue, statuette, ideograph, hieroglyphic, anaglyph, kanji, diagram, monogram, map, plan, chart, ground plan, projection, elevation (plan), ichnography, cartography, atlas, outline, scheme, view, radiograph, scotograph, sciagraph, spectrogram, heliogram, V, represent, delineate, depict, depicture, portray, take a likeness, catch a likeness, hit off, photograph, daguerreotype, snapshot, figure, shadow forth, shadow out, adumbrate, body forth, describe, trace, copy, mold, dress up, illustrate, symbolize, paint, carve, engrave, personate, personify, impersonate, assume a character, pose as, act, play, mimic, hold the mirror up to nature.