as in to imitate
to use (someone or something) as the model for one's speech, mannerisms, or behavior
was caught aping the substitute teacher's thick accent
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in maniac
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in aper
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in anthropoid
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of ape
Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 4 Apr. 2025
The knockoff was a flimsy, unusable slab of rubber dotted with magnets; the companies aping Agarwal's idea are seemingly unable to replicate the manufacturing process that Agarwal has spent years perfecting to finally be able to widely ship Polygons today.
—Ars Technica, 14 Mar. 2025
Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 30 Mar. 2020
Walking upright on two legs is considered a human trait that separates us from our ape relatives, like chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 2 Apr. 2020
Kate Wong, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2025
This same episode, someone (Langston Kerman?) donned a full ape suit to play Bubbles the Chimp.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ape
Verb
An electronic score by John Carroll Kirby apes the sound of the era but devolves into abstraction as the story develops into something darker.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 4 Apr. 2025
The knockoff was a flimsy, unusable slab of rubber dotted with magnets; the companies aping Agarwal's idea are seemingly unable to replicate the manufacturing process that Agarwal has spent years perfecting to finally be able to widely ship Polygons today.
—Ars Technica, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
Every hominin species in the fossil record has its own unique mix of familiar human traits and more ape-like ones, shaped by their environments and lifestyles.
—Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 30 Mar. 2020
Walking upright on two legs is considered a human trait that separates us from our ape relatives, like chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 2 Apr. 2020
Noun
Raised and kept in captivity, Kanzi was the subject of many studies aimed at illuminating ape cognition and the origins of human language and tool use.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2025
This same episode, someone (Langston Kerman?) donned a full ape suit to play Bubbles the Chimp.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ape
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ape
Verb
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At Cruise’s behest, McQuarrie’s stunts imitate the most primitive filmmaking — not the awe-inspiring magic of Georges Méliès but the Lumière brothers’ rudimentary documentation of action.—
Armond White,
National Review,
23 May 2025
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Walton imitated the big-box retail store and located them in small towns.—
Dileep Rao,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Based on Roth’s fictitious trailer of the same name that appeared in Grindhouse (2007), Thanksgiving takes place in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where a masked maniac terrorizes the residents one year after a Black Friday riot ended in tragedy.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
19 May 2025
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And yet our maniac coach is playing everyone too many minutes, including the injury prone players.—
James L. Edwards III,
The Athletic,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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By never breaking the anthropoid conceit — keeping Williams a chimp from working-class childhood obscurity to adult pop-stardom — Better Man evolves into the most honest and exploratory showbiz movie ever made.—
Armond White,
National Review,
10 Jan. 2025
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But thanks to a meager fossil record, the question of where this first anthropoid was born has remained open.—
Rachel Preiser,
Discover Magazine,
11 Nov. 2019
Verb
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A lot of people emulate some sort of legacy in order to shake the purse strings of their audience.—
Maya Georgi,
Rolling Stone,
23 May 2025
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Who wants their grandchildren to emulate such limited vocabulary, negative language and divisive rhetoric?—
Christine Ledbetter,
Chicago Tribune,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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But that was before Watkins suffered a season-ending ACL tear and before UConn star Paige Bueckers went absolutely berserk, scoring 40 in the Sweet 16.—
Ryan Kartje,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2025
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The dissolve to a commercial break a moment later was silent, with no applause; the discourse the following week was predictably berserk.—
Vulture Staff,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2025
Noun
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This poser is hard to work through when we are only given the text.—
Jack Murtagh,
Scientific American,
14 Jan. 2025
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After the release of Elden Ring, a famously difficult bestseller, Musk posted a screenshot of his character, but his build instantly exposed him as a poser.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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That included building a short block wall to separate the deck from the yard — and prevent skunks, possums and other critters from creeping under the deck — build an open fence to surround the property, and add a swale to retain rainwater.—
Caron Golden,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Apr. 2025
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Then other critters came to feast on the skunk’s leftovers, the incredible video shows.—
Brooke Baitinger,
Idaho Statesman,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Many voters in Argentina believed that firm action was needed to correct course on Argentina’s deeply unstable economy; now, other leaders in Latin America, Europe, and the U.S. are seeking to copy Milei’s chainsaw approach to public spending.—
Christine Ro,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
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Government officials believe the impersonator used artificial intelligence to copy Wiles' voice for calls.—
Jordan King
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ape.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ape. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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