imiterar

Imiterar is a Swedish verb meaning to imitate or mimic. It denotes the act of reproducing someone else’s behavior, sounds, style, or mannerisms, often for entertainment, study, or homage. The verb is used in everyday speech as well as in literary and media contexts, and can refer to both human actions and non-human patterns, such as imitating a musical genre or technology’s function.

Etymology and forms: imiterar is derived from the verb imita, which in turn comes from the French imiter, ultimately tracing to Latin imitari. The infinitive is imitera. The present tense form imiterar is used for all persons in the present: jag imiterar, du imiterar, han imiterar, etc. The simple past is imiterade, the supine is imiterat, and the past participle is imiterad. Related noun forms include imitation or imitation, often written as imitation (imitering).

Usage notes: Imiterar is often employed to describe playful or performative mimicry, such as impersonating a celebrity, mimicking a speech pattern, or adopting a stylistic manner. It can also describe more analytical acts, like imitating a process to study or recreate it. In nuance, etterlikna is a close synonym that emphasizes faithful reproduction, while kopiera stresses copying more literally, and imitera/ar can carry a broader sense of emulation or stylization.

See also: imitering (the act of imitation), imitation in culture, emulation.