Imitative means copying or mimicking something else. When you make an imitative sound, you're trying to reproduce a noise you heard: saying “woof woof” is an imitative bark, and “tick tock” imitates the sound of a clock. Comic book words like “crash” and “boom” are imitative of the sounds they describe.

Artists and writers sometimes create imitative work when they copy another person's style. A beginning painter might make imitative paintings that look just like their teacher's work while they're learning. Musicians learning jazz often start by playing imitative versions of famous songs before developing their own sound.

The word can carry a slightly negative tone. If a critic calls a movie imitative, they mean it copies other films without adding anything new or original. But imitation isn't always bad: babies learn to talk through imitative babbling, copying the sounds adults make. Athletes watch videos and make imitative movements to improve their technique. Sometimes copying is exactly how you learn before you're ready to create something entirely your own.