variants
or imposters
as in pretenders
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 impostors
By the finale, the galactic chessboard is crowded with players—emperors, rebels, prophets, impostors—but as Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) warned in the very first episode, the center cannot hold.
—
Jp Mangalindan, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
That’s until their cover in California Schemin’ as rapping imposters was blown and the emotional strain of denying their Scottishness and their fractured friendship revealed itself.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
Then there are impostors, which are often heartbreaking.
—Jason Phillips, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
Attackers can easily generate convincing digital impostors that fool people and biometric systems.
—Brian Greenberg, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
There are currently imposters even pretending to represent the FTC itself.
—Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2025
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 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
Jp Mangalindan, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
That’s until their cover in California Schemin’ as rapping imposters was blown and the emotional strain of denying their Scottishness and their fractured friendship revealed itself.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
Then there are impostors, which are often heartbreaking.
—Jason Phillips, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
Attackers can easily generate convincing digital impostors that fool people and biometric systems.
—Brian Greenberg, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
There are currently imposters even pretending to represent the FTC itself.
—Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2025
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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impostors
Noun
-
The contenders, pretenders and everybody in between.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Adjustments will be made, and by November and December, there will be a much clearer picture of who the contenders and pretenders are.—
Mark LaSota,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
To tell the truly venomous from the fakers, there are a couple details to help distinguish the two.—
Kirsten Fiscus,
Nashville Tennessean,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
As experts departed, quacks arrived.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
9 Sep. 2025
-
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
Noun
-
This fan-favorite promotion returns after nearly 10 years away, having been shelved following the exposure of one of the biggest frauds in corporate marketing history.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Certain frauds included requests to share bank details or to pay upfront costs associated with onboarding, such as certification or background check fees.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Astin’s remarks come after a formal condemnation of Norwood from SAG-AFTRA, as well as outcry from dozens of actors, including Emily Blunt, Melissa Barrera, Lukas Gage and more.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The feature, based on the 2016 novel by Ruth Ware, has all the ingredients of the perfect midweek movie, a delicious cast full of classy Brit actors, a dollop of mystery and a scrumptious 1 hour and 30 minute runtime.—
Abid Rahman,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The Patriots used motion to set up fakes and trick the Panthers defense, and for the most part, the illusions paid off.—
Mike Kaye
September 28,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Sep. 2025
-
The program, which officially launched in May, brings together brands, payment processors and e-commerce platforms like Amazon, eBay and Alibaba to develop best practices and work to get fakes off of online marketplaces.—
Gabrielle Fonrouge,Paige Tortorelli,
CNBC,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impostors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impostors. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share