im·i·tate /ˈɪmɪteɪt/ ●●○ verb [transitiveT] 1 IMITATEto copy the way someone behaves, speaks, moves etc, especially in order to make people laugh 〔尤指为引人发笑而〕模仿 She was a splendid mimic and loved to imitate Winston Churchill. 她是个出色的模仿者,喜欢模仿温斯顿·丘吉尔。
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.表示和其他人做一样的事情时不要用 imitate ,而要用 copy: She worries that Tom will copy his brother (不说 imitate his brother) and leave home. 她担心汤姆会学他的哥哥,离家出走。
2 IMITATEto copy something because you think it is good 仿效 vegetarian products which imitate meat 素肉
The Japanese have no wish to imitate Western social customs and attitudes. 日本人无意仿效西方的社会习俗和处事态度。
—imitator noun [countableC]