variants
or imposter
as in pretender
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
the man who claimed to be a prince turned out to be an impostor
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of impostor
The term became popular thanks to the pandemic-era online game Among Us, where players have to find imposters among their crew.
—
Mia Thurow, jsonline.com, 20 Aug. 2025
The total number of business imposter and government imposter reports filed by older adults with a loss of $10,000 or more reached 8,269 reports in 2024, up from 1,790 in 2020, according to the FTC.
—Susan Tompor, Freep.com, 18 Aug. 2025
The Democratic Women’s Caucus wrote in a letter to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leaders Monday that the change is necessary to protect women from assaults and kidnappings by imposters.
—Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 12 Aug. 2025
Phony is a coming-of-age mystery about a teenager who wakes up in the hospital after a car accident to discover his mom — his only parent and his best friend — appears to have been replaced by an impostor.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impostor
Mia Thurow, jsonline.com, 20 Aug. 2025
The total number of business imposter and government imposter reports filed by older adults with a loss of $10,000 or more reached 8,269 reports in 2024, up from 1,790 in 2020, according to the FTC.
—Susan Tompor, Freep.com, 18 Aug. 2025
The Democratic Women’s Caucus wrote in a letter to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leaders Monday that the change is necessary to protect women from assaults and kidnappings by imposters.
—Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 12 Aug. 2025
Phony is a coming-of-age mystery about a teenager who wakes up in the hospital after a car accident to discover his mom — his only parent and his best friend — appears to have been replaced by an impostor.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impostor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impostor
Noun
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But the Bolts don't have enough pieces to go from pretenders to contenders.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Aug. 2025
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The signing of Isak, however, might have turned Arsenal from title pretenders to genuine contenders.—
Graham Ruthven,
Forbes.com,
28 July 2025
Noun
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Famously, the Wizard is a charlatan in every version of the text.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
30 Aug. 2025
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No matter the party affiliation, there’ll be charlatans claiming to care, while smooth-talking their way into the homes of hard-working people who struggle.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 July 2025
Noun
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Washington recognized a fake from the jump.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
31 Aug. 2025
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Criminals exploit publicly available photos and recordings to create realistic digital fakes.—
Brian Greenberg,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
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With Italian actor Riccardo Scamarcio providing a cheeky voiceover, the short film reimagines the user manual as a tongue-in-cheek guide to effortless espresso making.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
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Morissette was the creative brains of the organization; Silverman was the lead actor.—
Carlton Reid,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Caricatured by Honoré Daumier and his lesser followers always as a mountebank, a charlatan, a circus clown, Louis Napoleon could normalize the extent of his outrages by the seeming harmlessness of his absurdities.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
13 June 2025
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With tariffs on pharmaceuticals, the mountebank of Mar-A-Lago wants to punish a small democracy of 5.3 million people that for the past 60 years has worked its way into the top table of drug research and production: Ireland.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
29 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Medallion’s Derek Lo figures that his software can cut through the system’s redundancies, slashing the time and cost of paperwork designed to prevent quacks from practicing medicine and safeguard patients that’s spiraled into something burdensome.—
Amy Feldman,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
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Tell that to the kids who have been hospitalized and died from measles, following quack Dr. Bobby’s Rx to avoid the shots.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
29 May 2025
Noun
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Through a mixture of internet sleuthing, preternatural good taste and a willingness to do whatever is necessary, Matthew quickly elevates his way to becoming a creative and emotional sounding board for Oliver — even as the singer’s entourage increasingly looks at him as a phony.—
William Earl,
Variety,
22 Aug. 2025
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Liberal Ted Garcia is a slick political phony — a cartoonish whitewash of actual government authoritarians (Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, Andrew Cuomo, etc.).—
Armond White,
National Review,
23 July 2025
Noun
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Julie and Todd were found guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax fraud in June 2022, while Julie was also found guilty of wire fraud.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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The election is complicated by the fact that Brown faces felony fraud charges.—
Josh Bergeron,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impostor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impostor. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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