IMITATION • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Imitation

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/ˌɪmətˈeɪʃən/ Listen

noun

Imitation n.

1.

The act of imitating. "Poesy is an art of imitation,... that is to say, a representing, counterfeiting, or figuring forth."

2.

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. "Both these arts are not only true imitations of nature, but of the best nature."

3.

(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.

4.

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

See images of 'Imitation'

Etymology of 'Imitation'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Imitation" Quotes from Famous Books

... enjoyed a visit to the palace of the Luxembourg. This edifice was begun in the sixteenth century, and the present palace was chiefly built early in the next one, by Marie de Medicis, in imitation of one at Florence. Bonaparte used it when chief consul. The old senate held its sessions there till its dissolution, in 1814. I never saw a building whose proportions appeared to me so elegant. The court is a parallelogram of three hundred and sixty by three hundred feet. The front consists ...

— Young Americans Abroad - Vacation in Europe: Travels in England, France, Holland, - Belgium, Prussia and Switzerland • Various

... with their best imitation of gallantry, to the Princess Maria Theresa of Aragon. Nita, standing in the vestibule, sent a melting glance at the faithful Jim, who stumbled over the treacherous ...

— The Ghost Breaker - A Novel Based Upon the Play • Charles Goddard

... from the table, and lounged to the door. The Doctor put his hands in his pockets and followed him. The young man, as if in unconscious imitation, had put HIS hands in his pockets also, and ...

— Maruja • Bret Harte

... But the whole order of friars, renouncing worldly objects, devote themselves to the imitation of the seventy disciples in Scripture, who were sent out by two and ...

— The Actress in High Life - An Episode in Winter Quarters • Sue Petigru Bowen

... engravings,—Landseer's stags and the inevitable Queen Louise. Yet through the open arch, in a pleasant study, one could see a good Zorn, a Venom portrait, and some prints. This nook, formerly the library, had been given over to the energetic Miss Hitchcock. It was done in Shereton,—imitation, but good imitation. From this vantage point the younger generation planned an extended attack ...

— The Web of Life • Robert Herrick

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