From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishimitateim‧i‧tate /ˈɪmɪteɪt/ ●●○ verb [transitive] 1 IMITATEto copy the way someone behaves, speaks, moves etc, especially in order to make people laugh She was a splendid mimic and loved to imitate Winston Churchill. ► Do not use imitate to mean ‘do the same thing as someone else’. Use copy: She worries that Tom will copy his brother (NOT imitate his brother) and leave home.2 IMITATEto copy something because you think it is good vegetarian products which imitate meat The Japanese have no wish to imitate Western social customs and attitudes. —imitator noun [countable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
imitate• I had the ability to imitate.• Our methods have been imitated all over the world.• He has a unique ability to imitate any sound he has heard.• And a clear case of life imitating astrology.• "Don't you talk to me like that!" she said imitating her mother's high-pitched voice.• They respond in sympathy to what she is doing and imitate her movements.• An animal acquires the behaviour pattern by imitating it from another.• A lot of writers have tried to imitate Lawrence's style.• She's really good at imitating our teacher's Scottish accent.• It was as if the ecology of the place had chosen to imitate politics.• We imitated the styles of Conrad, Hemingway, and Time magazine.• They still resent the deep disappointment that has followed attempts to imitate the West.Origin imitate (1500-1600) Latin past participle of imitari 