impersonate

[ verb im-pur-suh-neyt; adjective im-pur-suh-nit ]

verb (used with object)

, im·per·son·at·ed, im·per·son·at·ing.

1. to assume the character or appearance of; pretend to be:

   He was arrested for impersonating a police officer.

2. to mimic the voice, mannerisms, etc., of (a person) in order to entertain.
3. to act or play the part of; personate.
4. Archaic. to represent in personal or bodily form; personify; typify.

adjective

, Archaic or Literary.

1. embodied in a person; invested with personality.

impersonate

/ ɪmˈpɜːsəˌneɪt /

verb

1. to pretend to be (another person)
2. to imitate the character, mannerisms, etc, of (another person)
3. rare.
   to play the part or character of
4. an archaic word for personify

Derived Forms

• imˌpersonˈation, noun
• imˈpersonˌator, noun

Other Words From

• im·per·son·a·tion [im-pur-s, uh, -, ney, -sh, uh, n], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of impersonate¹

First recorded in 1615–25; im- ¹ + person + -ate ¹

Example Sentences

It introduced verification badges after a baseball manager sued the platform for helping someone impersonate him, and the result was a system that allowed users to easily check the authenticity of accounts.

From Slate

That led her into the biggest mistake of her career, her attempt to impersonate a progressive in the campaign for the 2020 presidential nomination.

From Los Angeles Times

It has terms of service which ban using the platform to "impersonate any person or entity" and in its "safety centre" the company says its guiding principle is that its "product should never produce responses that are likely to harm users or others".

From BBC

One person even brought Halsey's viral "The Greatest Impersonator" homage to Britney Spears into the mix, writing, "I hope she doesn’t impersonate Cynthia Erivo because that would be just deeply hurtful, like erasing her."

From Salon

In a homage to some of the greatest musicians of all time, the pop star has taken it upon herself to emulate them — or in this case, impersonate them.

From Salon

Related Words

• act like
• imitate
• masquerade as
• mimic
• portray
• pose as