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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for personate
Verb
  • He's played Dante Falconeri on the soap since 2009 and has appeared in over 1,600 episodes as the mob boss.
    Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
  • Betts made a Gold Glove finalist-worthy play for the first out – ranging into the hole to make a backhand play then a jump throw to first.
    Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Justin Simmons, 30, is charged with impersonating a peace officer and kidnapping.
    Jennifer Rodriguez, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Kenan pops up to confront her for impersonating a police officer at her concerts.
    Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Some will welcome it; there is certainly an argument that the attempts to imitate Guardiola’s style, playing from the back against high-class opponents with a plan to press them into mistakes, led to some coaches leading their teams like lambs to the slaughter.
    Oliver Kay, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • In an instance of art imitating life, the film's soundtrack also achieved great success as the highest-debuting soundtrack of 2025 on the Billboard 200.
    Jessica Wang, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • One of the challenges for me as biographer was not to trivalize this obsession, not to mock it in any way.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Their mother began a relationship with a swaggering alcoholic, their future stepfather, who mocked Scott for being soft.
    Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • But no matter the intent — the intent can be right, but when things get misconstrued, or however the media wants to portray it, that leaves a void of silence and a lot of questions for the guys on our team.
    Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • That pic won Safdie best director at Venice and earned Johnson the best reviews of his career portraying UFC fighter Mark Kerr.
    Justin Kroll, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The more inventive idea from Google is allowing your friends and family members to act as recovery partners for your Google account.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2025
  • For that reason, the government has a responsibility to act as both a steward of resources and a champion for equity.
    Pioneer Press elections team, Twin Cities, 16 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Personate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/personate. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!