Definitions for: Imitative


[adj] not genuine; imitating something superior; "counterfeit emotion"; "counterfeit money"; "counterfeit works of art"; "a counterfeit prince"
[adj] marked by or given to imitation; "acting is an imitative art"; "man is an imitative being"
[adj] (of words) formed in imitation of a natural sound; "onomatopoeic words are imitative of noises"; "it was independently developed in more than one place as an onomatopoetic term"- Harry Hoijer



Webster (1913) Definition: Im"i*ta*tive, a. [L. imitavitus: cf. F. imitatif.]
1. Inclined to imitate, copy, or follow; imitating;
exhibiting some of the qualities or characteristics of a
pattern or model; dependent on example; not original; as,
man is an imitative being; painting is an imitative art.

2. Formed after a model, pattern, or original.

This temple, less in form, with equal grace, Was
imitative of the first in Thrace. --Dryden.

3. (Nat. Hist.) Designed to imitate another species of
animal, or a plant, or inanimate object, for some useful
purpose, such as protection from enemies; having
resamblance to something else; as, imitative colors;
imitative habits; dendritic and mammillary forms of
minerals are imitative. -- Im"i*ta*tive*ly, adv. --
Im"i*ta*tive*ness, n.


Im"i*ta*tive, n. (Gram.)
A verb expressive of imitation or resemblance. [R.]

Synonyms: apelike, apish, assumed, bad, base, bastard, bogus, counterfeit, echoic, fake, false, fictitious, fictive, forged, inauthentic, mimetic, mimic, mock, onomatopoeic, onomatopoeical, onomatopoetic, ostensible, ostensive, parrotlike, phoney, phony, pinchbeck, pretended, pseudo, put on, sham, simulated, spurious, synthetic, unauthentic

Antonyms: echt, genuine, nonechoic, nonimitative

See Also: artificial, insincere, unreal

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