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
Why the latest PayPal phishing scam is so convincing
Most phishing scams try (and fail) to impersonate big companies.
—
Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 28 June 2025
That’s because Scattered Spider has also been known to send fake SMS text messages impersonating login systems to phish employees.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 27 June 2025
Yet again, scammers are impersonating law enforcement agencies in this atack, which has become a widespread theme across state and local as well as federal law enforcement.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
A number of people have been arrested for impersonating ICE agents, because that impersonation now means wearing a mask and claiming to be ICE.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 20 June 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.
Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 28 June 2025
That’s because Scattered Spider has also been known to send fake SMS text messages impersonating login systems to phish employees.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 27 June 2025
Yet again, scammers are impersonating law enforcement agencies in this atack, which has become a widespread theme across state and local as well as federal law enforcement.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
A number of people have been arrested for impersonating ICE agents, because that impersonation now means wearing a mask and claiming to be ICE.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 20 June 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 6 Jul. 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