impersonate

verb

im·​per·​son·​ate im-ˈpər-sə-ˌnāt 

impersonated; impersonating

transitive verb

: to assume or act the character of : personate

impersonating a police officer

impersonation

im-ˌpər-sə-ˈnā-shən 

noun

Synonyms of impersonate

• imitate
• mock
• play
• portray
• personate
• pose (as)
• masquerade (as)

Examples of impersonate in a Sentence

He was arrested for impersonating a police officer.

a comedian with a talent for impersonating famous politicians and actors

Recent Examples on the Web

This helps the platform track scams that impersonate its brand. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026

The first stage puts its payload inside an app bundle that impersonates real components built into macOS. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 2 July 2026

The Idaho Attorney General’s Office is warning that scammers are impersonating city planning officials in Boise, Meridian, Nampa and Caldwell, using public permit information to create realistic fake invoices. — Chadd Cripe. Produced With Ai Assistance, Idaho Statesman, 2 July 2026

This allows criminals to impersonate carriers, intercept deliveries, and disable GPS tracking. — Steve Weisman, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1715, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for impersonate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

impersonate

verb

im·​per·​son·​ate im-ˈpərs-ᵊn-ˌāt 

impersonated; impersonating

: to pretend to be some other person

impersonate a police officer

impersonation

-ˌpərs-ᵊn-ˈā-shən

noun

impersonator

-ˈpərs-ᵊn-ˌāt-ər

noun

Legal Definition

impersonate

transitive verb

im·​per·​son·​ate im-ˈpər-sə-ˌnāt 

impersonated; impersonating

: to assume (another's or a fictitious identity) without authority and with fraudulent intent

impersonate a police officer

impersonated a public servant by saying he was from the water department

impersonator

-ˌnā-tər 

noun