mimic
gb/mˈɪmɪk/ us/mˈɪmɪk/
B2
English
~ 9300
Senses
0 senses
Verb
B2
action
1
copy someone’s way of speaking or moving
To do the same voice, moves, or actions as another person or thing, usually very closely.
Usage pattern:
to mimic [someone/something]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use "mimic" without an object (e.g. *"He likes to mimic"*) when they mean he likes to copy other people; it is more natural to say "He likes to mimic people" or "He likes mimicking others." Learners also confuse "mimic" with "mime"; "mimic" usually involves copying someone, while "mime" is acting without words.
Synonyms
imitate (More common and neutral; does not especially suggest humor or teasing.)
|
mock (Focuses on making fun of someone, often unkindly; not always about accurate copying.)
Antonyms
originate (Emphasizes creating something new instead of copying someone or something else.)
Collocations
mimic an accent
|mimic a teacher
|mimic her voice
|mimic his movements
|mimic facial expressions
|mimic a style
Themes
communication
|behavior
|humor
|art
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The comedian can mimic almost any celebrity perfectly.
- Children love to mimic the way their parents talk.
- He mimicked her walk so well that everyone knew who he was pretending to be.
- Parrots are famous for mimicking human speech.
- She rolled her eyes and mimicked his deep, serious voice.
Learner examples
- The boy mimicked his father’s voice.
- She likes to mimic the teacher in front of her friends.
- The bird can mimic human words.
- He stood up and mimicked the way the boss walks.
- The actor mimicked the singer on a TV show.
Noun
C1
entity
2
person skilled at imitating others
A person who can copy other people’s voices or actions very well, usually to make people laugh.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think "mimic" is only a verb and say *"He is mimic"* instead of "He is a mimic" when they want to talk about a person with this skill.
Synonyms
impersonator (Often used for performers who copy famous people in a professional or formal way.)
|
impressionist (Common in entertainment for someone who does comic copies of famous voices or characters.)
Antonyms
individualist (Describes someone who prefers to act in their own original way rather than copying others.)
Collocations
a born mimic
|a brilliant mimic
|a natural mimic
|comedian and mimic
|gifted mimic
Themes
art
|entertainment
|people
|arts_entertainment
|communication
Examples
- He’s a brilliant mimic and can do the voices of all his coworkers.
- As a child she was such a good mimic that her parents would ask her to copy TV characters at parties.
- The show features a famous mimic who does politicians and movie stars.
- Her reputation as a sharp mimic sometimes makes people nervous around her.
- The young actor turned out to be a natural mimic with a talent for accents.
Learner examples
- Her brother is a very good mimic.
- The comedian is a great mimic of famous singers.
- Everyone laughed because the young mimic sounded just like the teacher.
- He became known as a clever mimic in his class.
- The boy is a natural mimic and copies his friends for fun.
Verb
C1
action
3
have effects that look like something else
To act or seem like another thing because it gives the same signs or effect.
Usage pattern:
to mimic [the effects/signs/symptoms of something]
Common mistake:
Learners may think this sense always involves a person copying another person. In medical or technical texts, the subject is often a disease, drug, or system, not a person, and there is no idea of joking or teasing.
Synonyms
simulate (Often slightly more technical; suggests copying or reproducing conditions or effects, sometimes on purpose.)
|
resemble (Focuses more on looking similar, not always on copying the actual effect or result.)
Antonyms
differ from (Stresses that something is not similar in its signs or effects.)
Collocations
mimic the effects of
|mimic the symptoms of
|mimic a heart attack
|chemicals that mimic hormones
|drugs that mimic the action of
Themes
science
|medicine
|description
|health
Examples
- Certain chest infections can mimic the symptoms of a heart attack.
- This drug mimics the effect of a natural hormone in the body.
- The early stages of the illness often mimic a simple cold.
- Some video games are designed to mimic real-world driving conditions.
- The software uses AI to mimic human decision-making processes.
Learner examples
- The new medicine can mimic the body’s own chemicals.
- These signs can mimic the signs of a heart problem.
- The disease may mimic a simple flu at first.
- The program tries to mimic normal human speech.
- Some fake products mimic the look of the real brand.
Noun
technical
C1
entity
4
organism or thing that looks like another
In science, an animal, plant, sickness, or sign that looks like another one, so people or other animals may think it is that other one.
Common mistake:
Learners may assume "mimic" only refers to people and jokes; in biology and medicine it is a technical noun for a look‑alike species or condition.
Synonyms
look-alike (Informal term for something or someone that looks very similar, without the technical biological meaning.)
Antonyms
original (In contrast to the copy-like "mimic", this is the thing that is not derived from similarity to something else.)
Collocations
a harmless mimic
|its poisonous model and mimic
|stroke mimics
|a close mimic
|mimic species
Themes
science
|biology
|medicine
|health
Examples
- The nonvenomous snake is a classic mimic of the deadly coral snake.
- Doctors must quickly distinguish true strokes from so‑called stroke mimics.
- This butterfly is a near-perfect mimic of a toxic species found in the same region.
- In this ecosystem, the mimic gains protection because predators avoid its poisonous model.
- Several different species act as mimics of the same dangerous insect.
Learner examples
- The safe snake is a mimic of the dangerous snake.
- A mimic animal looks like another animal.
- Doctors must see if the problem is a real stroke or a stroke mimic.
- This insect is a close mimic of a bee.
- In nature, a mimic can be hard to see as different from the real model.
Verb
technical
C2
action
5
organism evolves to resemble another
In biology, to become or look like another kind of animal or plant, usually because this helps it live or stay safe.
Usage pattern:
to mimic [another species/organism/structure]
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize that in biology this verb often talks about long-term change in a species, not a single animal choosing to copy something in the moment.
Synonyms
resemble (General word for looking similar; does not itself include the evolutionary idea of advantage.)
|
simulate (Suggests copying or pretending to be something else; often more technological than biological.)
Antonyms
diverge from (In evolutionary biology, used when a species becomes more different from another instead of more similar.)
Collocations
mimic another species
|mimic its surroundings
|mimic poisonous species
|mimic the appearance of
|insects that mimic leaves
Themes
science
|biology
|evolution
Examples
- Many nonvenomous snakes mimic venomous species to deter predators.
- Certain insects mimic dead leaves so well that they are almost impossible to spot.
- Some harmless butterflies mimic the wing patterns of toxic species in their habitat.
- Marine animals often mimic the color of the sea floor to avoid being seen.
- These fish mimic cleaner species to get close to their victims.
Learner examples
- Some insects mimic green leaves to hide.
- A harmless butterfly may mimic a dangerous butterfly.
- The animal uses color to mimic the ground.
- These fish mimic other fish to get food.
- Small animals often mimic big, scary animals to stay safe.
adjective
technical
C2
property
6
having signs or form like another
Looking or acting like something else, so people may think it is that other thing.
Usage pattern:
a mimic [condition/disease/form]
Common mistake:
Learners may misread this adjective as a verb form (e.g. *"a mimic disease"* understood as "to mimic disease"), not realizing it is describing a kind of disease.
Synonyms
imitative (General adjective for copying something else; does not strongly suggest confusion or misdiagnosis.)
|
pseudo- (Usually used as a prefix in medical or technical terms to mean "false" or "only seeming to be" something.)
Antonyms
genuine (Stresses that something is real and not a copy or misleadingly similar to something else.)
Collocations
mimic disease
|mimic condition
|mimic form
|mimic lesion
|mimic disorder
Themes
medicine
|science
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Doctors must be aware of mimic conditions that resemble heart attacks.
- The report describes several mimic diseases that present with similar symptoms.
- Mimic lesions in the brain can lead to misdiagnosis if imaging is not interpreted carefully.
- The study focuses on mimic forms of the virus that appear identical under a microscope.
- Clinicians are trained to distinguish true emergencies from mimic cases.
Learner examples
- A mimic disease looks like another disease.
- Some mimic conditions can fool even good doctors.
- This is a mimic form of the problem, not the real one.
- The doctor studied mimic cases to avoid mistakes.
- A mimic disorder can have the same signs as a serious illness.
Grammar
Dictionary form
mimic
IPA
GB/mˈɪmɪk/
US/mˈɪmɪk/
Syllables & stress
mim - ic (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (mim)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: mimic
Noun
- Base: mimic
- Plural: mimics
Verb
- Base: mimic
- 3rd Person Singular: mimics
- Present Participle: mimicing
- Past: mimiced
Word family
Expressions
No expressions linked to this entry yet.