emulation vs imitation

emulation and imitation both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
emulation	Yes	No	No	No
imitation	Yes	Yes	No	No

As nouns, imitation is a hypernym of emulation; that is, imitation is a word with a broader meaning than emulation:

emulation (noun)	imitation (noun)
effort to equal or surpass another	copying (or trying to copy) the actions of someone else
(computer science) technique of one machine obtaining the same results as another	something copied or derived from an original
ambition to equal or excel	the doctrine that representations of nature or human behavior should be accurate imitations
	a representation of a person that is exaggerated for comic effect

emulation (adjective)	imitation (adjective)
	not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article