imposture

Synonym Chooser

How is the word imposture different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of imposture are counterfeit, fake, fraud, humbug, and sham. While all these words mean "a thing made to seem other than it is," imposture applies to any situation in which a spurious object or performance is passed off as genuine.

their claim of environmental concern is an imposture

When is counterfeit a more appropriate choice than imposture?

While in some cases nearly identical to imposture, counterfeit applies especially to the close imitation of something valuable.

20-dollar bills that were counterfeits

When would fake be a good substitute for imposture?

The meanings of fake and imposture largely overlap; however, fake implies an imitation of or substitution for the genuine but does not necessarily imply dishonesty.

these jewels are fakes; the real ones are in the vault

Where would fraud be a reasonable alternative to imposture?

While the synonyms fraud and imposture are close in meaning, fraud usually implies a deliberate perversion of the truth.

the diary was exposed as a fraud

When is it sensible to use humbug instead of imposture?

In some situations, the words humbug and imposture are roughly equivalent. However, humbug suggests elaborate pretense usually so flagrant as to be transparent.

creating publicity by foisting humbugs on a gullible public

When can sham be used instead of imposture?

The synonyms sham and imposture are sometimes interchangeable, but sham applies to fraudulent imitation of a real thing or action.

condemned the election as a sham

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for imposture
Noun
  • So, perhaps the issue is the deception and not the expense.
    R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 20 Sep. 2025
  • But with this shift comes a new era of digital deception.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The band sets aside the winks and retro affectations for something unadorned and honest.
    Sarah Grant, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2025
  • The scenic appeal is undeniable, nature’s majestic prose both frames and dwarfs the tumultuous affectations of the characters.
    Holly Jones, Variety, 11 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Fakery that is part of the story, and fakery added on by real life.
    Anne Carson, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2025
  • The fakery made the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 significantly worse in Greece.
    Luciana Lopez, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Second, Tesla’s training approach, shifting toward vision-only imitation learning from human camera data, represents a strategic attempt to scale skill acquisition without hand-crafting controllers for each task.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025
  • To play the role, White spent hours studying Springsteen—listening to his memoir on tape, watching old interviews—but knew to avoid imitation.
    Eric Cortellessa, Time, 25 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Yet, this theory has continued for years—centuries, in fact—to give rise to a wide range of colonic quackery.
    Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
  • That is how CrossFit die-hards who dabble in Qanon quackery and blame wildfires on space lasers end up as the face of the House GOP.
    Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Meanwhile, shorts compete in the documentary, fiction and New Jersey films categories.
    Andrew McGowan, Variety, 26 Sep. 2025
  • And, for that matter, real fiction—which is where character development comes in.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Stevenson’s pirates are a frighteningly murderous and totally untrustworthy bunch, thriving on threats and duplicity.
    Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 15 Sep. 2025
  • The exceptions are Art Malik, who makes Claudius’ duplicity believable, and Sheeba Chadha, who is wrenching when Gertrude becomes remorseful.
    Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 30 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • But at least those entities are populated by people who are curious about art and culture—these OFFLINE events have no such pretense.
    Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Gregory and Gerner were arrested and charged with felony counts of injury to an energy facility and felony counts of obtaining property by false pretense, deputies said.
    Paloma Chavez, Charlotte Observer, 24 Sep. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Imposture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imposture. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.

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