mimetic means exhibiting mimesis. It carries an Arena rating of 1509, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, mimetic ranks #2,094 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,082 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,503 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #4,560 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
mimetic is pronounced /mɪˈmɛtɪk/.
Why “mimetic” is a great word
Relating to, characterized by, or exhibiting imitation or mimicry. From Latin mīmēticus, from Ancient Greek μῑμητικός (mīmētikós, "imitative"), from μιμεῖσθαι (mimeîsthai, "to imitate"). Unlike "nonmimetic," which denotes a clean, original state, or "onomatopoeic," which captures one sharp sound, "mimetic" describes the broader, often silent, pull toward resemblance. It is the uncanny echo in a child’s gesture, the protective coloration of a leaf insect on a twig, and the quiet pressure of a community adopting the same speech patterns until its members sound like one voice. We are mimetic creatures before we are anything else, forever performing an imitation that precedes our original.
Etymology
From Latin mīmēticus or its etymon Ancient Greek μῑμητικός (mīmētikós, “imitative”). By surface analysis, mime + -etic.
adj
- Exhibiting mimesis.e.g.“No enthusiasm recalled by mimetic art could hold poise with the intensity of the actual exultation of the Athenians on that day when they saw the Persian fleet hacked to pieces in the narrow strait.” — 1924, Herbert Weir Smyth, “III. The Persians”, in Aeschylean Tragedy, page 71:
- Imitative.e.g.“This is a planned city, built wholesale from scratch, and coloured with a mimetic sense of humour. Lusail has a replica Place Vendôme. Lusail has a fake Beverly Hills (still under construction).” — 2022 November 27, Barney Ronay, “Welcome to Lusail: Lego-city of the gods and one of the strangest places on earth”, in The Guardian:
noun
- Something mimetic or imitative.
- A type of mnemonic in the form of a picture.
- A substance with similar pharmacological effects as another substance or as a lifestyle intervention such as diet or exercise.e.g.“caloric restriction mimetic”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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