impersonate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to assume the character or appearance of; pretend to be.
He was arrested for impersonating a police officer.
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to mimic the voice, mannerisms, etc., of (a person) in order to entertain.
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to act or play the part of; personate.
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Archaic. to represent in personal or bodily form; personify; typify.
adjective
verb
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to pretend to be (another person)
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to imitate the character, mannerisms, etc, of (another person)
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rare to play the part or character of
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an archaic word for personify
Other Word Forms
- impersonation noun
- impersonator noun
Etymology
Origin of impersonate
Explanation
Impersonate means to pretend to be someone you're not. If you impersonate a bank teller in order to gain access to the money in the vault, you better hope nobody at the bank asks you any questions. Impersonate comes from the Latin in and persona, meaning "to invest with a personality." It often is used to describe someone posing as someone else for criminal purposes, but you can also impersonate someone for comedic effect. You may have seen actors on television do this. They impersonate politicians and celebrities by wearing wigs and makeup and try to match the famous person's mannerisms and way of speaking as closely as possible.
Vocabulary lists containing impersonate
The Secret Life of Bees
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Rebound
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 5–February 11, 2022
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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.
One thing that could happen is that your biometric data is stolen and used by hackers to impersonate you.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
This season, Fey dropped by to impersonate freshly ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026
The Workers Fraud Protection Act, which takes effect Jan. 1, makes it “unlawful to falsely impersonate a union representative” and imposes punitive fines.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025
Two performers who impersonate famous musicians form a Neil Diamond tribute band and fall in love, but a devastating accident threatens their relationship and dreams.
From BBC • Nov. 27, 2025
What had ever made me imagine that I could impersonate someone else, that I could be anything other than Widge, the orphan, the unwilling prentice of some unsympathetic master in some unbearable trade?
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
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.
