imitation

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: im=i=ta=tion

CIDE DICTIONARY

imitation, n. [L. imitatio: cf. F. imitation.].

•  The act of imitating.  [1913 Webster]

  "Poesy is an art of imitation, . . . that is to say, a representing, counterfeiting, or figuring forth."  [1913 Webster]
•  That which is made or produced as a copy; that which is made to resemble something else, whether for laudable or for fraudulent purposes; likeness; resemblance.  [1913 Webster]

  "Both these arts are not only true imitations of nature, but of the best nature."  [1913 Webster]
•  One of the principal means of securing unity and consistency in polyphonic composition; the repetition of essentially the same melodic theme, phrase, or motive, on different degrees of pitch, by one or more of the other parts of voises. Cf. Canon.  [1913 Webster]
•  The act of condition of imitating another species of animal, or a plant, or unanimate object. See Imitate, v. t., 3.  [1913 Webster]

  " Imitation is often used adjectively to characterize things which have a deceptive appearance, simulating the qualities of a superior article; -- opposed to real or genuine; as, imitation lace; imitation bronze; imitation modesty, etc."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

imitation, n.
1 the act or an instance of imitating or being imitated.
2 a copy.
3 counterfeit (often attrib.: imitation leather).
4 Mus. the repetition of a phrase etc., usu. at a different pitch, in another part or voice.

Etymology

F imitation or L imitatio (as IMITATE)

THESAURUS

imitation

accordance, acting, adoption, affected, agent, agreement, alike, alikeness, alliance, alternate, alternative, analogy, aped, aping, apocryphal, approach, appropriation, approximation, artificial, assimilation, assumed, assumption, backup, bastard, bogus, borrowed plumes, brummagem, burlesque, caricature, certified copy, change, changeling, characterization, cheat, clinquant, closeness, colorable, colored, community, comparability, comparison, conduplication, conformity, consimilar, copied, copy, copying, correspondence, counterfeit, counterfeited, counterpart, deputy, derivation, deriving, distorted, double, doubling, dressed up, dumb show, dummy, duplicate, duplication, echo, ectype, embellished, embodiment, embroidered, emulation, enacting, enactment, equal, equivalent, ersatz, exchange, facsimile, factitious, fair copy, faithful copy, fake, faked, fakement, false, falsified, farce, favoring, feigned, fictitious, fictive, fill-in, following, forged, forgery, frame-up, fraud, garbled, gemination, ghost, ghostwriter, hoax, hokey, homogeneous, icon, identical, identity, illegitimate, image, imitated, impersonating, impersonation, impostor, impression, incarnation, infringement, ingemination, iteration, junk, junky, knockoff, lampoon, like, likeness, likening, locum tenens, make-believe, makeshift, man-made, masquerade, metaphor, metonymy, mimesis, mimicked, mimicking, mimicry, miming, mock, mock-up, mockery, mocking, model, nearly reproduced, nearness, next best thing, not unlike, palingenesis, pantomime, pantomiming, parallelism, paraphrase, parity, parody, paste, pasticcio, pastiche, performance, performing, personation, personification, personnel, perverted, phony, picture, pinch, pinch hitter, pinchbeck, pirating, plagiarism, plagiarized, plagiary, playing, portrait, portrayal, posing, pretended, provisional, proxy, pseudo, put-on, put-up job, quasi, queer, quotation, re-creation, re-formation, reappearance, rebirth, rebuilding, reconstitution, reconstruction, recurrence, redesign, redoing, redoubling, reduplication, reecho, reedition, reestablishment, refashioning, regeneration, regenesis, regurgitation, reincarnation, reinstitution, reissue, reiteration, relief, remaking, renascence, renewal, renovation, reoccurrence, reorganization, repetition, replacement, replica, replication, representation, representative, reprinting, reproduction, resemblance, resembling, reserve, reserves, reshaping, restoration, restructuring, resumption, resurrection, return, revision, revival, ringer, rip-off, sameness, satire, second string, secondary, self-styled, semblance, sham, shoddy, sign, similar, similarity, simile, similitude, simulacrum, simulated, simulation, smacking of, so-called, soi-disant, something like, spare, spares, spurious, squib, stand-in, stopgap, sub, substituent, substitute, substitution, succedaneum, suggestive of, superseder, supplanter, supposititious, surrogate, swindle, symbol, synecdoche, synthetic, take-off, takeoff, taking, temporary, tentative, third string, tin, tinsel, titivated, token, travesty, twinning, twisted, unauthentic, understudy, ungenuine, uniform with, unnatural, unreal, utility, utility player, version, vicar, vicarious, vice-president, vice-regent, warped, whited sepulcher, wicked imitation

ROGET THESAURUS

imitation

Imitation

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.

Copy

N copy, facsimile, counterpart, effigies, effigy, form, likeness, image, picture, photo, xerox, similitude, semblance, ectype, photo offset, electrotype, imitation, model, representation, adumbration, study, portrait, resemblance, duplicate, reproduction, cast, tracing, reflex, reflexion, reflection, shadow, echo, transcript, transcription, recording, scan, chip off the old block, reprint, new printing, rechauffe, apograph, fair copy, parody, caricature, burlesque, travesty, travestie, paraphrase, derivative, derivation, modification, expansion, extension, revision, second edition, servile copy, servile imitation, plagiarism, counterfeit, fake, pasticcio, faithful, lifelike, close, conscientious, unoriginal, imitative, derivative.

Representation

N representation, representment, imitation, illustration, delineation, depictment, imagery, portraiture, iconography, design, designing, art, fine arts, painting, sculpture, engraving, photography, cinematography, radiography, autoradiography, fluorography, sciagraphy, personation, personification, impersonation, drama, picture, photo, photograph, daguerreotype, snapshot, X-ray photo, movie film, movie, tracing, scan, TV image, video image, image file, graphics, computer graphics, televideo, closed-circuit TV, 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, represent, representing, representative, illustrative, represented, imitative, figurative, iconic, like, graphic, cinquecento quattrocento, trecento.