These words refer to reproducing the style or characteristics of something taken as a model. Imitate is the most general and neutral of these, referring to any attempt to repeat convincingly or tellingly the recognizable features of the model; this may be done unconsciously because of a lack of originality, semi-consciously out of admiration, or consciously as satire: He hadn’t realized how much he tended to imitate his father’s way of talking; a writer who slavishly imitated the words of his favourite poet, Keats; a brilliant parody that imitated the acting of movie queens from the silent era. The word may also point to a conscious attempt at a serious resemblance for other than satiric effect: novelists who strive to imitate the speech patterns of real people; that phrase about art imitating life. The word may also suggest following some example-setting precedent: women who imitated the new British hairstyles.

Copy stresses a conscious or at least semi-conscious process; this may be done merely to duplicate information: He copied the relevant data out of the encyclopaedia. It may also, like imitate , suggest following an admired or fashionable model: They copied in dress and speech the oldest member of their gang. Often, however, the word suggests some sort of unethical appropriation: He found himself copying his neighbour’s answers during the gruelling exam. In a related context, the word can also refer to mere mechanical duplication: the office copying machine.

Impersonate exclusively concentrates on a specific aspect of imitate ; it refers to the assuming of another person’s mannerisms or appearance, either for the amusement of others or to perpetrate a real fraud: a night-club entertainer who could impersonate half a dozen famous stars with amazing verisimilitude; a crime to impersonate a policeman. Mimic , in turn, concentrates on one aspect of impersonate , namely, the acting out of someone else’s mannerisms for humorous, or even satiric, effect: She savagely mimicked the nasal whine of their teacher; a number in which he mimicked the vocal styles of several famous singers. Sometimes the word is used contemptuously for any imitating of a style or vogue: a rash of local singers struggling to mimic the Beatles.

Ape is related to this last possibility of mimic , but can refer either to a conscious, contemptuous caricature or to less conscious, but slavish, adherence to faddish models: They howled with laughter at the way he aped the receptionist’s la-di-la voice; adults who desperately try to ape the latest dance crazes of the young.