Thesaurus results for IMPERSONATE

impersonate

verb

im-ˈpər-sə-ˌnāt

Definition of impersonate

as in to imitate

to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior a school intruder was caught trying to impersonate a teacher

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in to portray

to present a portrayal or performance of interpreters at the living history museum impersonate figures who are known to have actually lived in the colonial town

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of impersonate Instagram eventually removed the account for impersonating a public figure. — Mia Sato, The Verge, 15 Oct. 2026 Phishing, one of the the most common cyber-attacks in the world, is when sensitive data is acquired by impersonating a legitimate business or a trusted person. — Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026 Similar Excel spreadsheets are used to organize schemes where Indian scammers in Delhi or Kolkata impersonate Microsoft tech support, the Internal Revenue Service or even the Federal Bureau of Investigation. — Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 13 Oct. 2026 Maslow went so far as to impersonate agents and applicants on the phone, according to prosecutors. — CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for impersonate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for impersonate

Verb

Criminals can imitate those messages to create panic and lure people toward fake login pages.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026
Musks imitate the feeling of a luxe fabric, soft and skin-like, as a fresh set of Frette bedsheets.

— Loren Savini, Allure, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of imitate

Verb

Beckman portrayed the first lady's work on the ceasefire as an extension of her efforts to help reunite Russian and Ukrainian children with their families after they were separated by Russia's war against Ukraine.

— BEN FINLEY, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
Pundits continue to portray the Taiwan Strait as the world’s most dangerous flashpoint; the summit’s agenda suggested otherwise.

— Ningrong Liu, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of portray

Verb

As proof of how much of a joke this has become for people is that a sketch mocking their drama was part of the October 10 episode of Saturday Night Live UK.

— Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 21 Oct. 2026
There were earlier versions of this story that were openly mocking of Kip, versions that threw Leo under the bus for being too sly; versions that were too overtly political; versions with ghosts that didn’t need to be there, and so on.

— Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of mock

Verb

Reimer played just one previous game this fall, a 35-save shutout in the American Hockey League on Saturday night, before signing an NHL contract for the rest of the season.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
The 2025 expansion team will have an opportunity to secure its first championship banner when Game 6 is played Thursday afternoon in Atlanta.

— Reuters, NBC news, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of play

Verb

Her wife, poet Megan Falley, performs with the Chicago Philharmonic.

— Web Behrens, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
The Nasdaq-style Star50 index, set up by Xi to help finance China’s high-tech transformation, has been one of the world’s worst- performing tech gauges this year.

— Andy Browne, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of perform

Verb

While older generations may interpret limited eye contact, a flat expression or a pause before responding as rude, lazy or unprofessional, that might not be a younger person’s intent at all, Leahy said.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
The authors concluded that improved laboratory sensitivity and statistical methods could help agencies better interpret drinking-water monitoring results.

— Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of interpret

Browse Nearby Words

impersonal

impersonate

impersonated

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Impersonate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impersonate. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of impersonate

verb

Example Sentences

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