Definition of impersonatenext
1
as in to imitate
to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior a school intruder was caught trying to impersonate a teacher

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2
as in to portray
to present a portrayal or performance of interpreters at the living history museum impersonate figures who are known to have actually lived in the colonial town

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of impersonate In one scene, Simpson put on a prosthetic nose and a face of white makeup to impersonate an elderly, white man eager to call the numbers at a bingo game. — Kalia Richardson, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026 The agents also allegedly impersonated a moderator on the wiki, using an identical Cyrillic е character in the admin's username instead of the Latin one. — Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 6 Sep. 2026 An attacker using a cloned voice to impersonate an executive on a call to the help desk isn’t defeated by a Zero Trust slide deck. — Michael Flannery, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2026 The Yuba County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday detained and arrested a 21-year-old man for allegedly impersonating a peace officer on the Yuba College campus in Marysville. — Tania Azhang, Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for impersonate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impersonate
Verb
  • Rather than taking advantage of genuine quantum effects, Scholes proposes, life might be imitating them instead.
    — Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 23 Sep. 2026
  • This succinct statement follows outpourings of both support and criticism of Sims, including additional allegations that YISE has imitated other beauty brands—the very thing Sims was lamenting.
    — Marci Robin, Allure, 21 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Another poll, commissioned by an independent expenditure group supporting Raman, portrayed the race as a statistical tie, at least initially.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Dostoyevsky’s sniveling devil comes closest to portraying the man chiefly responsible for organizing the Final Solution.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Sponsors threaten to abandon the team, while male shareholders mock the entire idea as a waste of money.
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • My career was insulted, and I was mocked for fumbling around while attempting to juice a pineapple with a woefully inadequate kitchen utensil.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Oman has long played a quiet role in US-Iran diplomacy, while Qatar has facilitated backchannel negotiations and prisoner exchanges.
    — Lauren Morganbesser, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Purdy played well enough that Mac Jones replaced him with about seven minutes remaining and the 49ers leading 35-6.
    — Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Till’s motifs swept though the ensemble, as horns, clarinets, bassoons, violin all had a chance to personate the character.
    — BY LIBBY HANSSEN, kansascity.com, 3 June 2017
Verb
  • The victim fell to the ground and stopped breathing and had to have CPR performed by bystanders, the report says.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Sep. 2026
  • David Pakman examines just how far the need to perform for digital spectators has seeped into real life.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Like the woolly rhino, the Irish elk is depicted on the cave walls of Chauvet in France.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Lizzie and Bridget having a romantic relationship Monster depicts Lizzie and Bridget as forming a romantic relationship, which starts when Bridget becomes a maid for her family.
    — Kelly Allen, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The new study adds another potential health concern, but the researchers themselves caution against interpreting the results as proof of causation.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2026
  • The decision establishing the fund is very clear that contributions are voluntary and the act of contributing should not be interpreted as an acknowledgment of liability.
    — Tarun Gopalakrishnan, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Impersonate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impersonate. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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