aped

past tense of ape
as in imitated
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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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 aped Nicholson's fireworks would be subsequently aped, and amped up to over-the-top proportions, by other actors and by the future Batman villain himself. — Devan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Mar. 2026 But none aped the style of an actual Super Bowl ad more cleverly than this one, clearly modeled after Budweiser’s ads that tend to feature horses and inspirational voiceovers. — Omar L. Gallaga, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026 American elites aped European fashions, art, and manners, and Europeans admired American energy and efficiency. — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 23 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aped
Verb
  • Clifford gates, however, can be imitated by a normal computer.
    — Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The rest of the industry watched with envy, then imitated the model.
    — Robb Report, Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • There were city walks, passages of literature copied by hand, guqin music in a classical garden, an incense gathering at a waterside pavilion and a banquet beneath the autumn moon.
    — Li Jun, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Eventually, as lesser talents copied the techniques without the wit, the novelty wore thin, giving modernist cuisine a bad name.
    — Robb Report, Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Others snapped selfies holding physical copies of Hard Court and marveled at the chestnut burrs—that emulated the look of tennis balls—placed around the shop.
    — Paul Chi, Vogue, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Liccardo pitched the framework as a legislative model that could be emulated across levels of local government in the Bay Area to create region-wide protection against potential ICE facilities.
    — Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • That's the field dedicated to protecting Earth from the possibility of a calamitous asteroid impact, and DART mimicked how humans could change the orbit of a threatening space rock, taking it off its collision course.
    — Meghan Bartels, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • That peptide mimicked the human hormone GLP-1, which prompts the pancreas to release insulin and makes people feel full.
    — Dr. Bowman Heiden, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Aped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aped. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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