impersonate
verb
im·per·son·ate
im-ˈpər-sə-ˌnāt 
impersonated; impersonating
: to assume or act the character of : personate
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
Using tools like deepfakes, cybercriminals can impersonate high-ranking executives with alarming precision, manipulating trust to override judgment.
—
Shai Gabay, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
The White House has launched an investigation into attempts to impersonate President Donald Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles.
—Jordan King
shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025
One or more unknown people accessed White House chief of staff Susie Wiles' personal cellphone and used her contacts file to reach out to other top officials and impersonate her, sources told CBS News Thursday.
—Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 29 May 2025
The security provider suspects the fake Bitdefender site was likely used in phishing attacks since the malicious domain overlapped with internet infrastructure hosting other fake sites impersonating banks and IT services.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for impersonate
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.
Shai Gabay, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
The White House has launched an investigation into attempts to impersonate President Donald Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles.
—Jordan King
shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025
One or more unknown people accessed White House chief of staff Susie Wiles' personal cellphone and used her contacts file to reach out to other top officials and impersonate her, sources told CBS News Thursday.
—Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 29 May 2025
The security provider suspects the fake Bitdefender site was likely used in phishing attacks since the malicious domain overlapped with internet infrastructure hosting other fake sites impersonating banks and IT services.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for impersonate
Cite this Entry
“Impersonate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impersonate. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
noun
-ˌpərs-ᵊn-ˈā-shən
impersonator
noun
-ˈpərs-ᵊn-ˌāt-ər
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share