impersonate

verb

im·​per·​son·​ate im-ˈpər-sə-ˌnāt How to pronounce impersonate (audio)
impersonated; impersonating

transitive verb

: to assume or act the character of : personate
impersonation noun
impersonator noun

Examples of impersonate in a Sentence

He was arrested for impersonating a police officer. a comedian with a talent for impersonating famous politicians and actors
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
What Timmy does brilliantly and what Jim really liberated Timmy to do, is not to impersonate Bob, not to do an impression, not to match him spot on. Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2025 The phishing campaign employs malicious adverts that have been created to impersonate PayPal and display the official PayPal website, the report revealed. Davey Winder, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025 The big picture: The Federal Trade Commission has received reports nationwide of scammers trying to capitalize on immigrants' fears by impersonating immigration attorneys, border patrol agents and immigration enforcement. Naheed Rajwani-Dharsi, Axios, 27 Feb. 2025 On Sunday, February 16, the late-night comedy show revived the Black Jeopardy sketch with a twist — Eddie Murphy impersonated Tracy Morgan while the actual Morgan stood beside him. Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 17 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for impersonate

Word History

First Known Use

1715, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of impersonate was in 1715

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Impersonate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impersonate. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

impersonate

verb
im·​per·​son·​ate im-ˈpərs-ᵊn-ˌāt How to pronounce impersonate (audio)
impersonated; impersonating
: to pretend to be some other person
impersonate a police officer
impersonation
-ˌpərs-ᵊn-ˈā-shən
noun
impersonator
-ˈpərs-ᵊn-ˌāt-ər
noun

Legal Definition

impersonate

transitive verb
im·​per·​son·​ate im-ˈpər-sə-ˌnāt How to pronounce impersonate (audio)
impersonated; impersonating
: to assume (another's or a fictitious identity) without authority and with fraudulent intent
impersonate a police officer
impersonated a public servant by saying he was from the water department
impersonator noun

More from Merriam-Webster on impersonate

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!