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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Fashion and sociology experts say that, when examining the significance of any bold fashion statement such as Robbie's, context plays an important role.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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The Yankees played an integral part in the remembrance of 9/11.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The account that had impersonated him, after blowing up on @joma_gc, deactivated and removed all of its information from the page.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
16 Sep. 2025
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Hortman was killed alongside her husband in their Brooklyn Park home by a man allegedly impersonating a police officer.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Later in the game, when officials did call a travel on Atlanta, Clark was seen imitating the gesture again, playfully.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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Student imitates Charlie Kirk's death and mocks him, goes up to statue where TPUSA members are and imitates his death again, and spits near them.—
Nick Mordowanec,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Many on the right have reacted strongly to those perceived to be celebrating or mocking Kirk's death, calling for consequences such as losing their jobs or in Omar's case, being censured.—
Alia Shoaib,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
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Comedy Central responded to Kirk’s killing by pulling the episode mocking him from its regular rotation.—
Dominick Mastrangelo,
The Hill,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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While some Hamas apologists have portrayed the word as benign, its real meaning is undeniably violent — and not just for Israelis.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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Somehow, they’re portrayed as heroic trials of love, requiring sacrifice, trust and resilience.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The sound department actually played the music that would overlay the scene as Dockery acted.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
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How much has Charlie Sheen earned from acting?—
Jordana Comiter,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Personate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/personate. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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