What does imitated mean?
“Imitated” is the past tense and past participle of “imitate,” meaning to copy or reproduce someone's appearance, actions, voice, mannerisms, or artistic style. It can describe deliberate mimicry, as when an actor imitates a performer, and it can also describe the production of a copy or counterfeit, as when a company imitates the packaging of a famous brand. The word is neutral in tone, although its use often suggests closeness, approximation, or an attempt to pass something off as the original. In ordinary usage, “imitated” is less common than the related nouns “imitation” and “imitator,” but it is useful for describing an action already completed or for forming perfect tenses. It is standard in British and American English and can be used with people, objects, sounds, styles, and behaviours.
Copied or reproduced the appearance, actions, voice, qualities, or style of someone or something.
"She imitated the bird call until the other animals came closer."
The past tense and past participle of “imitate.”
Made or treated as a copy of an original; imitated.
"The museum displayed an imitated version of the ancient manuscript."
Used less often than the noun “imitation”; it may sound slightly formal or literary in some contexts.
From the same Latin root as “imitation,” the word behind every convincing fake, copy, and impersonation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does imitated come from?
The word derives from the Latin verb imitari, meaning “to copy, resemble, or imitate.” Its English forms developed through the related noun “imitation” and the verb “imitate,” with the present participle “imitating” and the past form “imitated” following the usual English pattern. Related English words include “imitative,” “imitator,” and “imitable,” while “emulate” also reflects the same broad history of copying or matching another person's qualities.
Related word forms
How imitated is actually used
As a verb, “imitated” is the past tense and past participle of “imitate.” In the past participle it commonly follows an auxiliary, as in “has imitated,” although it can also stand alone in sentences such as “The film imitated the style of the original.”