impersonate

play

verb im·per·son·ate \im-ˈpər-sə-ˌnāt\

Definition of impersonate

impersonated

;

impersonating

transitive verb
: to assume or act the character of : personate

impersonation

play \im-ˌpər-sə-ˈnā-shən\ noun

impersonator

play \im-ˈpər-sə-ˌnā-tər\ noun

See impersonate defined for English-language learners

See impersonate defined for kids

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 of impersonate from the Web

The subplot in which Ursula impersonates a beautiful young woman to lure Eric away from Ariel is scrapped here in favor of a Cinderella-esque scenario where Eric must choose a bride from an entourage of hopefuls.

— christine pivovar, kansascity, "‘The Little Mermaid’ at Starlight valiantly tries to keep up with the animated classic", 4 June 2017
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Walt Disney World employee is accused of impersonating an FBI agent while stopping a woman on a Florida road.

— associated press, Washington Post, "Disney employee accused of impersonating FBI agent", 31 May 2017
A Walt Disney World employee is accused of impersonating an FBI agent while stopping a woman on a Florida road.

— the associated press, The Seattle Times, "Disney employee accused of impersonating FBI agent", 31 May 2017
Smith was arrested on one count of falsely impersonating an officer, WKMG said.

— web staff, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Disney employee accused of using Halloween prop to impersonate FBI agent: report", 31 May 2017
He has been convicted of assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer, assault on a female, escape from local jail, impersonating a peace officer, breaking and entering, communicating threats and other offenses.

— joe marusak, charlotteobserver, "63-year-old Lincolnton man accused of child sex assault", 30 May 2017
Ben Kingsley wickedly impersonates Hamid Karzai, at the time the president of Afghanistan.

— a. o. scott, New York Times, "Review: ‘War Machine’: Brad Pitt Has Met the Enemy. He Just Doesn’t Know It Yet.", 25 May 2017
CCC published the print on a piece of plastic inside 4,000 copies of its magazine Die Datenschleuder that readers can use to impersonate the minister to biometric readers.

— kim zetter, WIRED, "Hackers Publish German Minister’s Fingerprint", 31 Mar. 2008

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'impersonate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

1715

First Known Use of impersonate

1715

IMPERSONATE Defined for English Language Learners

impersonate

play

verb

Definition of impersonate for English Language Learners

: to pretend to be (another person)

IMPERSONATE Defined for Kids

impersonate

play

verb im·per·son·ate \im-ˈpər-sə-ˌnāt\

Definition of impersonate for Students

impersonated

;

impersonating

: to pretend to be another person

Law Dictionary

impersonate

play

transitive verb im·per·son·ate \im-ˈpər-sə-ˌnāt\

Legal Definition of impersonate

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