impostor
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of impostor
1580–90; < Late Latin, equivalent to Latin impos ( i )-, variant stem of impōnere to deceive, place on ( see impone) + -tor -tor
Vocabulary lists containing impostor
"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 3
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"The Millionaire Miser"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Impostor syndrome means you’re still holding onto the person you were before.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2025
The band address the phenomenon on their recent song Impostor, which reflects on the anxiety of building on that momentum, and the understandable onset of impostor syndrome.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2025
How can I convince Captain Impostor that they are no longer welcome as my sidekick in life?
From Washington Post • Aug. 22, 2022
Impostor syndrome is something that doesn’t sit with you all the time.
From Slate • May 2, 2021
That fearful Impostor, Pumblechook, immediately nodded, and said, as he rubbed the arms of his chair, “It’s more than that, Mum.”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
