impersonate
[verb im-pur-suh-neyt; adjective im-pur-suh-nit, -neyt]
- to assume the character or appearance of; pretend to be: He was arrested for impersonating a police officer.
- to mimic the voice, mannerisms, etc., of (a person) in order to entertain.
- to act or play the part of; personate.
- Archaic. to represent in personal or bodily form; personify; typify.
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- embodied in a person; invested with personality.
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Origin of impersonate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for impersonating
Contemporary Examples
Allen admitted that he had been worried about impersonating Walt Jr. but thought it would be discriminatory to leave him out.
Man, is he mixed up in a whole lot of different stuff, from karate to Elvis impersonating to fiction writing.
Two presenters on Sydney's 2Day FM radio station called the hospital while impersonating the Queen and Prince Charles.
Post Mortem Will Show That Kate Middleton Hoax Nurse Jacintha Hung HerselfTom Sykes
December 12, 2012
But that particular line was never uttered by Palin, it came from Tina Fey impersonating the former governor.
Whether riding a horse, conducting an orchestra, or impersonating an officer, Williams packs in a manic number of characters.
Historical Examples
How can we prevent men, in such livery, from impersonating our own agents?
Long Live the KingMary Roberts Rinehart
What that meant was very plain—he was impersonating the deity!
A Tramp Abroad, CompleteMark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
He sees himself as, and feels that he is actually, the character he is impersonating.
The Victorious AttitudeOrison Swett Marden
That you are impersonating a man whose property you have stolen.
A Desperate VoyageEdward Frederick Knight
But even a versatile actor might pause at impersonating a President.
impersonate
- to pretend to be (another person)
- to imitate the character, mannerisms, etc, of (another person)
- rare to play the part or character of
- an archaic word for personify
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for impersonating
impersonate
v.
1620s, "to invest with a personality," from assimilated form of Latin in- "into, in" (see in- (2)) + persona "person." Sense of "to assume the person or character of" is first recorded 1715. Earlier in same sense was personate (1610s). Related: Impersonated; impersonating.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper