variants
or imposter
as in pretender
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
the man who claimed to be a prince turned out to be an impostor
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of impostor
But don’t be fooled — what might seem like a clandestine cannabis crop is often just a harmless impostor.
—
Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 25 June 2024
While that may have been the case, the country’s oligarchs have unwittingly turned this volatile impostor into a folk hero whose power may not diminish even outside the chancellor’s sphere of influence.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 17 Mar. 2024
The only people who never feel like impostors are the real impostors.
—Melody Wilding, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
Which was presumably not difficult to do after Daniela, having at last discovered that the man sleeping in her bed for the past month was an impostor, bonked Jason B on the head and shoved him down the basement stairs.
—Chris Klimek, Vulture, 26 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for impostor
Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 25 June 2024
While that may have been the case, the country’s oligarchs have unwittingly turned this volatile impostor into a folk hero whose power may not diminish even outside the chancellor’s sphere of influence.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 17 Mar. 2024
The only people who never feel like impostors are the real impostors.
—Melody Wilding, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
Which was presumably not difficult to do after Daniela, having at last discovered that the man sleeping in her bed for the past month was an impostor, bonked Jason B on the head and shoved him down the basement stairs.
—Chris Klimek, Vulture, 26 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for impostor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impostor
Noun
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Presumably the quality of play will be much improved now that most of the pretenders have been eliminated, but scarcity should also work in the networks’ favor.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
3 Sep. 2019
-
John Elway was considered a postseason pretender when his Denver Broncos were annihilated in three Super Bowls over a four-year stretch, then finished his career by snagging the franchise’s first two championship rings.—
Tim Graham,
The Athletic,
22 Jan. 2025
Noun
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But Kennedy has a long, undistinguished record of relying on the work of charlatans to make wild charges, of not correcting the record when he is proven wrong, and then going to find more bad evidence to continue to make the same insinuations.—
The Editors,
National Review,
31 Jan. 2025
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That’s because the agency’s duty is to stand in the way of businesses desiring to push unsafe and ineffective nostrums at unwary consumers, and also in the way of a perverse idea that personal freedom includes the freedom to be gulled by charlatans.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
But her choice ultimately comes down to a question of authenticity; the rich author is a liar and a fake, while the pickle man is the salt of the earth.—
Jason Bailey,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2025
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Gabriela Jaquez could be moved with a screen, freshman Kendall Dudley bit on Watkins’ fakes, and Janiah Barker wasn’t disciplined enough to keep track of Watkins’ movement.—
Sabreena Merchant,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Hader, a household name in Austria for his work as a comedian on stage, won the best actor honor at the Locarno Film Festival for his role in Hold-Up in 2000.—
Georg Szalai,
The Hollywood Reporter,
26 Feb. 2025
-
The series stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, and a large cast of young actors who have grown up alongside the show.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
Newsweek,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Gould observed that Jerry Falwell had taken up the mountebank’s mission of William Jennings Bryan.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
26 July 2024
-
Now, this pallid Color Purple epitomizes the artistic dearth of an era when a cultural mountebank like Winfrey uses race and feminist guile to cheat us of America’s most creative achievements.—
Armond White,
National Review,
3 Jan. 2024
Noun
-
Milla — a young woman who feels disillusioned by doctors that treat her like a recalcitrant child, directing even conversations about her treatment to her father instead of her — finds false security in quacks selling enemas and juice cleanses.—
Angie Han,
The Hollywood Reporter,
5 Feb. 2025
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Trump’s Insane Clown Posse Cabinet is very close to being filled with a cadre of fools and quacks, goons and thugs.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
For a Gen X-er raised on movies that skewered phonies and wannabes, the thought of being a poser was, in the end, far more offensive to his sensibilities than being potentially bland.—
Rachel Syme,
The New Yorker,
23 Dec. 2024
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The answer is important because being a phony is hard work.—
LaRae Quy,
Forbes,
20 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Sunbeam ultimately filed for bankruptcy and the SEC sued Dunlap and other top executives for engineering a massive accounting fraud.—
Matt Schifrin,
Forbes,
21 Feb. 2025
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On March 26, 2024, GAO released a report that these payments could have been made due to poor record keeping, overpayment or fraud.—
Danielle Battaglia,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impostor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impostor. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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