as in imitator
a person who adopts the appearance or behavior of another especially in an obvious way
every rock singer who makes it big soon has a whole cluster of copycats
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to copy
to make an exact likeness of
asked her stylist to copycat a hairstyle from the magazine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to imitate
to use (someone or something) as the model for one's speech, mannerisms, or behavior
a performer who slavishly copycats another never rises to the level of true stardom
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of copycat
Ed Silverman, STAT, 6 Mar. 2026
Some of those drones are actually copycats of Iran’s own autonomous Shahed drones.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2026
David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 27 Sep. 2022
And neither of us was that interested in trying to copycat any of the production elements of their songs, anyway.
—Vulture, 18 May 2022
See All Example Sentences for copycat
Noun
The approval comes just as Novo’s Wegovy faces patent expiry later this month, opening the door for cheaper copycat drugs.
—Ed Silverman, STAT, 6 Mar. 2026
Some of those drones are actually copycats of Iran’s own autonomous Shahed drones.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2026
Verb
Sometimes, people will copycat what other teams have done.
—David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 27 Sep. 2022
And neither of us was that interested in trying to copycat any of the production elements of their songs, anyway.
—Vulture, 18 May 2022
See All Example Sentences for copycat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for copycat
Noun
-
Though Cox has a small role and Panettiere returns, the lack of legacy characters makes this feel like a cheap imitator at times.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Mar. 2026
-
For decades, Gallup’s company and its imitators improved their techniques.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
To be clear, do yourself a favor and don’t ruin your March by copying a pasting a Golden bracket.—
Cedric Golden,
Austin American Statesman,
17 Mar. 2026
-
To keep your space from feeling like it was copied and pasted from a furniture store display, prioritize one-of-a-kind pieces of different scales, textures, and pattern.—
Cameron Beall,
Southern Living,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
And that is exactly why the fixation on recreating her look and imitating her to a T is so misguided.—
Tamim Alnuweiri,
InStyle,
15 Mar. 2026
-
The indie movie, which runs a tight 1 hour and 21 minutes, is a perfect example of life imitating art — minus the murder.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
On Friday, some of her followers made the trek to the mural only to find that the logo had already been painted over with a lighter shade of purple.—
Charlie Vargas,
Oc Register,
17 Mar. 2026
-
And speaking with Jon Weinstein, the National Hockey League’s chief communications officer, SI noted that the league’s social media pages exploded with new followers.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The demonstration was conducted using a hardware-in-the-loop simulation environment designed to replicate real operational conditions.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Mar. 2026
-
His young nephew provided the entertainment, whacking a plastic ball around with a toy club on the lawn, replicating pro golf mannerisms a little too closely.—
Gabby Herzig,
New York Times,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This is called lying, hardly advice to emulate.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 2026
-
The Switch 2 can use this tool to improve graphics by emulating a docked experience for original Switch games, but Nintendo notes there are drawbacks.—
James Peckham,
PC Magazine,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Whispers of endless buffets at industry parties, seem a distant echo of a bygone era.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
9 Mar. 2026
-
The echoes of history are striking.—
Andrew Silow-Carroll,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Because birds reproduce through eggs rather than live birth, the dodo and moa projects involve a different set of biological challenges than the dire wolf work.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Mar. 2026
-
From that test case, the researchers found the abalone had to be at least six feet in distance to reproduce, preferably in groups of at least six for a greater chance of a male and female within the group.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Copycat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/copycat. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
