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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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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Williamsburg would play a prominent role in the American Revolution as the seat of Virginia's government until 1780 (when the capital was changed to Richmond).—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
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Parting ways with Morey was ultimately not an easy decision for the 76ers, but Philadelphia’s inability to take the next step in a constantly changing East played a significant role in the organization’s direction.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Another person whom Ferrell had fun impersonating was Jeopardy host Alex Trebek in Celebrity Jeopardy skits.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
17 May 2026
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That scheme involved operatives impersonating recruiters and executive search consultants on LinkedIn and Telegram and then sending unwitting job-seeking targets standard technical coding tests laced with malware.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Researchers will wear sensors while carrying out laboratory tasks, allowing the system to capture movements, workflows, and decision-making patterns that robots can later imitate.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
18 May 2026
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What makes the campaign especially convincing is that each stage imitates familiar Apple, Google or Microsoft software behavior many Mac users already trust and routinely encounter.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
Verb
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This is also not the first time the president has mocked the Illinois governor's weight.—
Hannah Hudnall,
USA Today,
12 May 2026
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The two Republicans are heard on the video mocking Wu's accent during the introduction of that bill.—
Ashley Paul,
CBS News,
12 May 2026
Verb
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The show has a bootstrappy vibe in which individual grit and self-belief are portrayed as the keys to success.—
Julie Beck,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
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But in a March 19 response to the plaintiffs’ demand letter, according to the AP's reporting, Leita Walker, an attorney for Artists Equity, said that the film does not intend to tell the true story of that incident or to portray real people.—
Sarah Perkel,
USA Today,
12 May 2026
Verb
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After a week’s buildup, acts from 25 countries are taking to the stage at the Wiener Stadthalle arena in Vienna to battle for the continent’s pop crown.—
Jill Lawless,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2026
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Capricorns offer advice and guidance (even though Maverick can act as a hothead on occasion), but from a distance, allowing their mentees to make mistakes before learning lessons.—
Lisa Stardust,
PEOPLE,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Personate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/personate. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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