Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Defying imitation; matchless.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Not imitable; incapable of being imitated or copied; surpassing imitation.
- Synonyms Matchless, peerless.
Wiktionary
- adj. beyond imitation, surpassing all others, matchless
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Not capable of being imitated, copied, or counterfeited; beyond imitation; surpassingly excellent; matchless; unrivaled; exceptional; unique.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. defying imitation; matchless.
Etymologies
- From Latin inimitabilis, corresponding to in- + imitable. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Latin inimitābilis : in-, not; + imitābilis, imitable (from imitārī, to imitate). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“And now to particularize a little, as to such divine characters which are conspicuous in it, and which I call inimitable, that could have proceeded from none but a divine Author.”
The Whole Works of the Rev. John Howe, M.A. with a Memoir of the Author. Vol. VI.
“JC: I suppose "inimitable" is a fair description of the kind of the associative and improvisational style of teaching and writing that I tend to do.”
“All in inimitable, indigenous French avant-garde fashion.”
“It possesses a certain inimitable quality, the combination of unique elements that make it impossible to reproduce exactly.”
“God takes up the argument begun by Elihu (who came nearest to the truth) and prosecutes it in inimitable words, excelling his, and all other men's, in the loftiness of the style, as much as thunder does a whisper.”
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon)
“Gaffney has engineered a thrilling Brooklyn Bridge of a novel, at once old-fashioned and utterly modern, grand and charming, elegant and massive, imposing and delightful, carrying us in inimitable style across the rich, rank waters of New York City’s history.”
Metropolis: Summary and book reviews of Metropolis by Elizabeth Gaffney.
“There is a an exquisite, unweathered quality to a well-trained childrens' chorus that is inimitable, which is probably why so much church music has been written for their perfect soprano voices over the centuries.”
“As the guide pointed out the dens for the wild beasts -- the passages through which they came -- and the arena for the combat -- Sir Henry, like most British travellers, recalled the inimitable story of Thraso, and his lion fight.”
“Every supreme writer has his own style, inalienable and inimitable, which is as much a part of him as his own soul, the look in his eyes, or his tones of voice.”
“He did his best to look sombre and Spanish, to turn his visage into a mask; to conceal his thoughts and emotions, not only by the expression of his features but by direct misstatements of his tongue, and in all things to present to the obedient Flemings as elaborate a reproduction of his great prototype as copy can ever recall inimitable original.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘inimitable’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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hunting
crudely, unequivocal, obsolete, obscure, overtly, misdeed, shack, inherent, outcry, hefty, composed, poised and 319 more...
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From reading
Collected from reading
venerate, reprobate, reticent, adoration, ethereal, ephemeral, equivocal, contumacious, heinous, solicitous, agnostic, aberration and 335 more...
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Words that should be heard in songs m...
Inspired by PossibleUnderscore's list of words overused in modern pop music.
giant squid, bamboo, colonic, herbivore, raptor, dodecahedron, largesse, sinuses, dim sum, carburetor, transubstantiation, wife and 54 more...
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apjoseph's words
insurmountable, ubiquitous, unequivocal, incumbent, asinine, amenable, sycophants, precarious, malevolent, gregarious, raison detra, nefarious and 200 more...
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ecbrenner's list
flatline, luddism, apocalipstick, muttsucker, leviathan of fore..., flint, coryphaeus, donnybrook, bandwidth, bagpipe the mizen, cheesed off, asterism and 525 more...
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Verba Dilecta
delectable, notate, pauciloquy, paucity, pauciloquent, paucify, interscapilium, uropygium, inferna, nota, equipollent, prepollent and 677 more...
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Magoosh GRE
its a list of words borrowed from Magoosh GRE blog ,an indispensable resource for GRE test takers.
inimitable, exiguity, myriad, cornucopia, surfeit, glut, deluge, opaque, pellucid, grandiloquent, turgid, gadfly and 106 more...
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my GRE words
pedant, wizened, histrionic, logorrhea, frenetic, approbation, quibble, knell, acclivity, droog, prevarication, aplomb and 182 more...
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btkuhn's list
persnickety, perspicuity, perspicacity, augur, churlish, enervate, schadenfreude, esoteric, lionize, dispositive, capricious, bibulous and 129 more...
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List Erine
cool mint antiseptic
shalom, cattywampus, bourgeoisie, aerophile, traverse, grotto, epicurean, ex cathedra, nautilus, epitaph, lathe, continuum and 753 more...
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newGRE
mostly from magoosh
imbue, verge on, nonchalant, deliberate, timorous, futile, provisional, dissect, checked, tinged, alluring, visionary and 1046 more...
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inimitable
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ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
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My GRE word list
polemic, ad hominem, fallacious, comity, paucity, contrite, prosaic, veracious, laconic, pugnacious, alacrity, gregarious and 176 more...
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Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
Tweets
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sera Note to self:
compare inimical
inimitable- peerless. Antonym: common
inimical- hostile. Antonym: amicable Aug 16, 2007