50 Imitation Quotes For Authentic Flattery

Relax and feel flattered by these interesting quotes about imitation. 

Eccentric American artist Oscar Wilde once said, “Imitation is the homage mediocrity pays to greatness.”

Some people negatively judge those who imitate things that inspire them. 

Is it beneficial to imitate others?

Imitation gets a bad reputation for being such an essential tool in human development.

Imitation allows us to grow.

For artists or content creators, imitation can be a touchy subject. 

Some people feel threatened when others imitate them, while some feel honored to be copied.

For most living beings, imitation is a crucial part of skill development.

Imitation allows us to learn new things quickly by watching those around us. 

When we are kids, we gain knowledge by observing the behavior of others.

There are skills we possess that we take for granted, such as speech, gross motor movements, play skills, and social-emotional skills that we learn through imitation. 

Enjoy these imitation quotes!

Imitation quotes about flattery

1. “Imitation is the sincerest flattery.” — Mahatma Gandhi

2. “Copying or imitation is the highest form of flattery.” — Tito Sotto

3. “Imitation is obviously a great form of flattery.” — Peyton Manning

You will also enjoy our article on life imitate art.

4. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” — Charles Caleb Colton

5. “Imitation is flattery, and The Hills Have Eyes is a classic.” — Michael Berryman

6. “Listening, not imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery.” — Joyce Brothers

7. “Imitation is not just the sincerest form of flattery – it’s the sincerest form of learning.” — George Bernard Shaw

8. “My art flatters nobody by imitation; it courts nobody by smoothness, tickles nobody by petiteness… there is no finish in nature.” — John Constable

9. “Imitation is the highest form of flattery, but clones kind of get it wrong because we are promoting individuality and being proud of being yourself.” — Brian Molko

10. “I believe that love–not imitation–is the sincerest form of flattery. Your imitator thinks that you can be duplicated; your lover knows you can’t.” — Marilyn Vos Savant

Imitation quotes and sayings

11. “The worst acting is about imitation.” — Paul Guilfoyle

12. “Nature is commonplace. Imitation is more interesting.” — Gertrude Stein

13. “The heroes of the present will retreat to the imitation they are anyhow.” — Charles Olson

14. “Art should be life. It’s an imitation of life. It should have some humanity in it.” — John Lydon

15. “Comedians are not usually actors, but imitations of actors.” — Johann Georg Zimmermann

16. “Of what use were the arts if they were only the reproduction and the imitation of life?” — Alfred de Vigny

17. “Most sorts of diversion in men, children and other animals, are in imitation of fighting.” — Jonathan Swift

18. “Unfortunately, what came out of it was also kind of an imitation community with a lot of mindless conformity.” — Bill Griffith

19. “All bad Literature rests upon imperfect insight, or upon imitation, which may be defined as seeing at second-hand.” — George Henry Lewes

20. “I knew that we were clicking when mimics started kidding my voice. I’ll know that I’m on the way out when they stop doing their imitations.” — Vaughn Monroe

Imitation quotes by Aristotle, Oscar Wilde, and Great Thinkers

21. “Art only begins where imitation ends.” — Oscar Wilde

22. “For imitation is natural to man from his infancy.” — Aristotle

23. “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” — Oscar Wilde

24. “Tragedy is an imitation not of men but of a life, an action.” — Aristotle

25. “Imitation is the homage mediocrity pays to greatness.” — Oscar Wilde

26. “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” — Oscar Wilde

27. “Man differs from other animals particularly in this, that he is imitative, and acquires his rudiments of knowledge in this way; besides, the delight in it is universal.” — Aristotle

28. “Nature, upon the other hand, forgetting that that imitation can be made the sincerest form of insult, keeps on repeating this effect until we all become absolutely wearied of it.” — Oscar Wilde

29. “A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself . . . with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions.” — Aristotle

30. “The poet, being an imitator like a painter or any other artist, must of necessity imitate one of three objects – things as they were or are, things as they are said or thought to be, or things as they ought to be. The vehicle of expression is language – either current terms or, it may be, rare words or metaphors.” — Aristotle

Imitation quotes about jewelry

31. “In the 1950s, contemporary costume jewelry styles shifted again.” — Trufacet

32. “Costume jewelry are designs that use non-precious materials as a cheaper alternative to fine jewelry.” — Trufacet

33. “Costume jewelry is not made to give women an aura of wealth, but to make them beautiful.” — Coco Chanel

34. “Affordable costume jewelry is needed to appeal to the rapidly changing tastes associated with the fast-fashion industry.” — Trufacet

35. “Costume jewelry was made with unconventional and non-precious materials like gold plated brass, wood, and leather.” — Trufacet

36. “I hate imitation jewelry, dark lipstick, and most of all, a shrill voice. This has spoiled many a picture of feminine loveliness.” — Ray Milland

37. “Costume jewelry was also looked down upon as being only for women who couldn’t afford necklaces and bracelets made with real gemstones.” — Trufacet

38. “Coco Chanel is largely credited as being the primary influence behind the shift of fashionable tastes from delicate fine jewels to colorful, statement costume jewelry.” — Trufacet

39. “Stylistically, costume jewelry shifted from the Art Deco industrial-influenced designs to include whimsical and feminine motifs like bows and floral boughs.” — Trufacet

40. “Until the early 20th century, costume jewelry was still designed to resemble heirloom jewelry and, although it was comparatively inexpensive to produce, it was still worn as a symbol of wealth and prestige.” — Trufacet

Imitation quotes to inspire and teach

41. “Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal.” — T. S. Eliot

42. “Life doesn’t imitate art; it imitates bad television.” — Woody Allen

43. “Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.” — Albert Schweitzer

44. “Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.” — Salvador Dali 

45. “When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.” — Eric Hoffer

46. “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” — James Baldwin 

47. “Man is defined as a human being and a woman as a female – whenever she behaves as a human being, she is said to imitate the male.” — Simone de Beauvoir

48. “If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.” — Confucius

49. “A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example.” —  Niccolo Machiavelli 

50. “I propose not our enemies as an example for our general imitation, yet, as their navy is the best regulated of any in the world, we must, in some degree, imitate them and aim at such farther improvement as may one day make ours vie with – and exceed – theirs.” — John Paul Jones

What did you learn from these imitation quotes?

The American philosopher and writer James Baldwin once said, “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”

Recent studies have found strong correlations between the amount of imitation during the first two years of our lives and our long-term language and social development. 

Psychologists continue to study and question how children develop the ability to imitate.

Generally, our caregivers are the ones we mimic first.

It is natural for us to copy the adults and people around us.  

Exciting research has shown that children learn to imitate by being imitated by others.

Play is crucial in a child’s life.

Giving children opportunities to play, use their imagination, and replicate others gives them valuable space to grow. 

Learning to mimic facial expressions, voice tonation, and appropriate response takes time.

Imitation allows us to develop these much-needed skills that we carry into adulthood.

What’s your biggest takeaway from these imitation quotes and sayings?

Let us know in the comment section below.