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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 Fortune has reported on scammers using voice-cloning tools to impersonate relatives since 2023. — Muskaan Arshad, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026 Also charged in the case was Kimberley Pifer, who allegedly impersonated Jett and married Von Ferdinand using Jett’s name, according to Stephan. — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 Instagram eventually removed the account for impersonating a public figure. — Mia Sato, The Verge, 15 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 See All Example Sentences for impersonate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impersonate
Verb
  • Claude is destined to imitate these human traits and mirror the human examples provided to it, including acting like a colleague or friend.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026
  • These are commonly used in things like model aircraft to imitate jet engines.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 1 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • Beckman portrayed the first lady's work on the ceasefire as an extension of her efforts to help reunite Russian and Ukrainian children with their families after they were separated by Russia's war against Ukraine.
    — BEN FINLEY, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Pundits continue to portray the Taiwan Strait as the world’s most dangerous flashpoint; the summit’s agenda suggested otherwise.
    — Ningrong Liu, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • As proof of how much of a joke this has become for people is that a sketch mocking their drama was part of the October 10 episode of Saturday Night Live UK.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 21 Oct. 2026
  • There were earlier versions of this story that were openly mocking of Kip, versions that threw Leo under the bus for being too sly; versions that were too overtly political; versions with ghosts that didn’t need to be there, and so on.
    — Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Purdue transfer, cleared by the courts to play courtesy of a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit against the NCAA, came off the bench to score nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.
    — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 3 Nov. 2026
  • That forced Edmonds and former Horned Frog David Punch (now at Texas) to play lengthy minutes and have to worry about foul trouble.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Nov. 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
  • Trump has often pointed over the past months to historical data showing that the party holding total control of Washington tends to perform poorly in midterm elections.
    — Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The auditor may perform audits or reviews of any of the Clay County offices or departments.
    — The Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 4 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • Some disease models depict amyloid accumulation as downstream of failures in the cellular machinery that processes and recycles proteins.
    — Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The small-boat crossings have been depicted as a crisis by politicians including Nigel Farage of the hard-right party Reform UK, and have been used as a rallying point by anti-immigration activists.
    — Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • Tests used to make medical decisions should be accurate, reliable, and interpreted appropriately.
    — Dr. Shravani Durbhakula, Time, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The interface includes dark mode, while advanced data analysis and database tools help organize and interpret business information.
    — StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 31 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Impersonate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impersonate. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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