aping
Doing an impression
Aping is imitating someone or something, usually in a way that seems superficial, clumsy, or mocking.
The word carries the sense of mimicry without understanding—copying outward behavior rather than grasping its substance: teenagers aping celebrity fashion, a politician aping populist rhetoric.
The term derives from how apes seem to imitate human actions.
One who mimics another
- mimicOne who copies others
- emulateCopy with aspiration
- parrotSpeech-mimicking tropical bird
- mirrorReflective viewing surface
echo · replicate · simulate · impersonate · copy · follow · model · clone
Satirical imitation
- satireMockery exposing vice
- lampoonHarsh public mockery
- burlesqueExaggerated mockery or risqué variety
- send-upMocking imitation of something
spoof · travesty · caricature · ridicule · derision · taunt · jeer · sneer
Obsequious behavior toward authority
- fawningExcessive insincere flattery
- obsequiousnessServile eagerness to please
- toadyismServile flattery seeking favor
- bootlickingServile flattery for advantage
brownnosing · ingratiation · servility · grovelling · crawling · kowtowing · suck-up · yes-man
Largest great ape
- chimpanzeeGreat ape, genus Pan
- orangutanLarge red-haired Asian ape
- bonoboCongo Basin great ape
- gibbonTailless tree-dwelling primate
simian · hominid · knuckle-walking · brachiation · grooming · foraging · vocalization · troop
copycat
One who mimics another
mirror · echo · replicate · simulate · impersonate · copy · follow · model · clone · reproduce
parody
Satirical imitation
- satireMockery exposing vice
- lampoonHarsh public mockery
- burlesqueExaggerated mockery or risqué variety
send-up · spoof · travesty · caricature · ridicule · derision · taunt · jeer · sneer · scorn
sycophancy
Obsequious behavior toward authority
- fawningExcessive insincere flattery
- obsequiousnessServile eagerness to please
- toadyismServile flattery seeking favor
bootlicking · brownnosing · ingratiation · servility · grovelling · crawling · kowtowing · suck-up · yes-man · apple-polishing
gorilla
Largest great ape
- chimpanzeeGreat ape, genus Pan
- orangutanLarge red-haired Asian ape
- bonoboCongo Basin great ape
gibbon · simian · hominid · knuckle-walking · brachiation · grooming · foraging · vocalization · troop · silverback
- imitationcopy, copycat, imitation, mimicking, replica
- mockerymockery, ridiculing, jeers, jeering, jibes
- copyingcopying, copy, plagiarism, repeating, duplicating
apinginnovating
Creating original methods
originating · creating · inventing · pioneering · trailblazing