personate

¹ American  

[pur-suh-neyt] / ˈpɜr səˌneɪt /

verb (used with object)

personated, personating

1. to act or portray (a character in a play, a part, etc.).

2. to assume the character or appearance of; pass oneself off as, especially with fraudulent intent; impersonate.

3. to represent in terms of personal properties or characteristics; personify.

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verb (used without object)

personated, personating

1. to act or play a part.

personate ² American  

[pur-suh-nit, -neyt] / ˈpɜr sə nɪt, -ˌneɪt /

adjective

1. Botany.

   1. (of a bilabiate corolla) masklike.

   2. having the lower lip pushed upward so as to close the gap between the lips, as in the snapdragon.

2. Zoology.

   1. having a masked or disguised form, as the larvae of certain insects.

   2. having masklike markings.

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personate ¹ British  

/ ˈpɜːsəˌneɪt /

verb

1. to act the part of (a character in a play); portray

2. a less common word for personify

3. criminal law to assume the identity of (another person) with intent to deceive

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personate ² British  

/ ˈpɜːsənɪt, -ˌneɪt /

adjective

1. (of the corollas of certain flowers) having two lips in the form of a face

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Other Word Forms

• personately
  adverb
• personation
  noun
• personative
  adjective
• personator
  noun

Etymology

Origin of personate¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; verb use of Latin persōnātus “wearing a mask, masked”; see origin at person ( def. )

Origin of personate²

First recorded in 1750–60; from New Latin, Latin; persōnātus “masked”; see origin at persona, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

So that a Person, is the same that an Actor is, both on the Stage and in common Conversation; and to Personate, is to Act, or Represent himself, or another.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• act like
• ape
• assume
• duplicate
• echo
• emulate
• impersonate
• mimic
• mirror
• mock
• pretend
• replicate
• reproduce
• resemble
• simulate