Monday, January 7, 2013

emulate/imitate: Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Monday, January 7, 2013

emulate/imitate
People generally know what “imitate” means, but they sometimes don’t understand that “emulate” is a more specialized word with a purely positive function, meaning to try to equal or match. Thus if you try to climb the same mountain your big brother did, you’re emulating him; but if you copy his habit of sticking peas up his nose, you’re just imitating him.

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