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
George Carlin’s estate reached a settlement this week with the creators of a comedy special that claimed to use artificial intelligence to impersonate the late comedian.
—
Samantha Chery, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
Contra Amazon has said users’ Amazon One palm signature can’t be replicated to impersonate them and noted the palm’s unique characteristics including creases, friction ridges, and underlying veins.
—Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The actress incorporated the character into a season 5 episode of her '90s sitcom The Nanny, in which her character Fran Fine impersonates the publicist.
—Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
The company’s policy now forbids impersonating candidates or local governments using ChatGPT.
—Wes Davis, The Verge, 19 Mar. 2024
Without a password barrier, fraudsters were able to impersonate company representatives in calls and messages to gain access to customer accounts, according to interviews and online reports.
—Craig Silverman, ProPublica, 11 Mar. 2024
Fearing he was being followed by someone impersonating a police officer, Brock called 911 and asked what to do.
—Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Today’s criminals have become brazen in their schemes, impersonating people from the SSA or other government agencies, like the IRS, in an attempt to obtain personal information or money.
—Jill Schlesinger, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Scammers engineered the scheme by initially impersonating someone from his bank's fraud department.
—Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 8 Feb. 2024
Samantha Chery, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
Contra Amazon has said users’ Amazon One palm signature can’t be replicated to impersonate them and noted the palm’s unique characteristics including creases, friction ridges, and underlying veins.
—Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The actress incorporated the character into a season 5 episode of her '90s sitcom The Nanny, in which her character Fran Fine impersonates the publicist.
—Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
The company’s policy now forbids impersonating candidates or local governments using ChatGPT.
—Wes Davis, The Verge, 19 Mar. 2024
Without a password barrier, fraudsters were able to impersonate company representatives in calls and messages to gain access to customer accounts, according to interviews and online reports.
—Craig Silverman, ProPublica, 11 Mar. 2024
Fearing he was being followed by someone impersonating a police officer, Brock called 911 and asked what to do.
—Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Today’s criminals have become brazen in their schemes, impersonating people from the SSA or other government agencies, like the IRS, in an attempt to obtain personal information or money.
—Jill Schlesinger, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Scammers engineered the scheme by initially impersonating someone from his bank's fraud department.
—Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 8 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impersonate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near impersonate
Cite this Entry
“Impersonate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impersonate. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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
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