as in to play
to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior
likes to personate the man of the world, but he's still the small-town hick that he always was
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of personate
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
By Libby Hanssen, kansascity.com, 3 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for personate
Verb
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Ninth-seeded Keys, playing in her 50th Grand Slam tournament, trailed 4-0 before finding her rhythm.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Jan. 2026
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Radio stations began playing (Taylor’s Version) albums instead of the originals, and fans began listening to them on streaming services.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In that case, attackers impersonated legitimate apps and walked users through terminal commands that installed the same AMOS infostealer.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
2 Jan. 2026
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He was robbed by a man impersonating a police officer and testified as a key witness at the trial, according to a media reports.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
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James said while walking through the venue, imitating her excitement.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
6 Jan. 2026
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When anchors John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois took over CBS Evening News last year, part of the network’s strategy was to imitate a local news format, with a genial cast of personalities reporting from the field.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Promoted domestically as a tale of peasant uprising, the film later became a cult curiosity abroad, often mocked for its special effects but recognized as one of the country’s most technically ambitious productions.—
Will Ripley,
CNN Money,
21 Jan. 2026
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Some meme makers are admirers of Kirk who want to valorize him; some are neo-Nazis out to mock Kirk for not being extreme enough (while also drawing attention to their cause); some are liberals trying to troll conservatives; many are surely apolitical types having a nonsensical laugh.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The leading lady, who portrayed the fictional first female president of the United States, won a Golden Globe for Best Actress — Television Series Drama.—
Brendan Le,
PEOPLE,
21 Jan. 2026
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The perception of the business community about the impact of AI isn't as rosy as tech leaders portray.—
Steven Wolfe Pereira,
Forbes.com,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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These encounters appear to act like a refueling system, delivering fresh gas that can keep the black hole quietly active for long periods.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Jan. 2026
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While bold at first glance, electric blue is surprisingly wearable, acting almost like a modern neutral when paired with black, white, gray, navy, or denim.—
Gabrielle Porcaro,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Personate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/personate. Accessed 24 Jan. 2026.
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