Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act or an instance of imitating.
  • noun Something derived or copied from an original, often in an inferior way.
  • noun Repetition of a phrase or melody often with variations in key, rhythm, and voice.
  • noun Repetition of a theme in another voice such that each part continues polyphonously.
  • adjective Made to resemble another, usually superior material.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of imitating; an imitating or copying.
  • noun That which is made or produced by imitating; hence, in general, a likeness or resemblance; a simulated reproduction or representation; more loosely, a likeness or resemblance in general.
  • noun Specifically, in music, the process or act of repeating a melodic phrase or theme, either at a different pitch or key from the original, or in a different voice-part, or with some rhythmic or intervallic modification not so great as to destroy the resemblance.
  • Made in imitation; counterfeit; not genuine; copied: as, imitation stone, lace, gold, etc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of imitating.
  • noun 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.
  • noun (Mus.) 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.
  • noun (Biol.) The act of condition of imitating another species of animal, or a plant, or unanimate object. See Imitate, v. t., 3.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The act of imitating.
  • noun A copy.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun something copied or derived from an original
  • noun copying (or trying to copy) the actions of someone else
  • noun the doctrine that representations of nature or human behavior should be accurate imitations
  • noun a representation of a person that is exaggerated for comic effect
  • adjective not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article

Etymologies

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Examples

  • If the imitation is exact, the term _strict imitation_ is applied, but if only approximate, then the term _free imitation_ is used in referring to it.

    Music Notation and Terminology Karl Wilson Gehrkens 1928

  • Fuseli and Coleridge falsely apply the term imitation, making "a distinction between imitation and copying, representing the first as the legitimate function of art -- the latter as its corruption."

    Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXVI. October, 1843. Vol. LIV. Various

  • Officers found a 13-year-old boy holding two air soft pistols, which they described as imitation firearms.

    Bakersfield.com Latest news 2008

  • At first, in imitation of Daguerre, Conway tried coating silver plates with the silence, but realizing that sound requires space in which to resonate, he switched to glass lanterns.

    The Sound Thief « A Fly in Amber 2009

  • In other news this week, I learned first hand that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

    Joel Epstein: Finding the Money to Build Out LA's 30/10 Transportation Initiative Joel Epstein 2010

  • As they say, imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

    Books in 2009, #24 pabba 2009

  • The fashionable hour was high noon, though in imitation of the English, afternoon weddings were popular, and three p.m. was popular for winter weddings, and four p.m. in the spring.

    The Wedding | Edwardian Promenade 2009

  • He had chosen this work, he said, because the declamatory style was framed in imitation of the eastern authors.

    Chapter 13 2010

  • Peering through the windows at the spectacles hosted by white planters, enslaved blacks would then prance and preen in imitation of whites at their own dances, using exaggerated movements, curtsys and bows to and adopting “high-toned” clothing to mock.

    The Cakewalk | Edwardian Promenade 2009

  • Peering through the windows at the spectacles hosted by white planters, enslaved blacks would then prance and preen in imitation of whites at their own dances, using exaggerated movements, curtsys and bows to and adopting “high-toned” clothing to [...]

    2009 February | Edwardian Promenade 2009

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