verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   To use, and pass off as one's own, someone else's writing, speech, ideas, or other intellectual or creative work, especially in an academic context; to commit plagiarism. ambitransitive

   "She was caught trying to plagiarize an article for her thesis."

2. 2
   take without referencing from someone else's writing or speech; of intellectual property wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

liftact likeadoptaffectappropriateassume

Example

More examples

"Creative people create, the non-creative plagiarize, all the others - translate."

Etymology

From plagiary + -ize, ultimately from Latin plagiare (“to kidnap, to abduct”).

Related phrases

pass off

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.