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

Last year, the AI startup removed chatbots that impersonated popular Disney characters such as Elsa and Darth Vader after the Burbank entertainment behemoth sent a cease-and-desist letter. — Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

The message can create an immediate fear that someone is impersonating you online. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Phishing, one of the the most common cyber-attacks in the world, is when sensitive data is acquired by impersonating a legitimate business or a trusted person. — Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026

Similar Excel spreadsheets are used to organize schemes where Indian scammers in Delhi or Kolkata impersonate Microsoft tech support, the Internal Revenue Service or even the Federal Bureau of Investigation. — Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 13 Oct. 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