impersonate
Americanverb (used with object)
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impersonates,
present (3rd person singular)
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impersonated,
past participle, past
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impersonating
present participle
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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impersonatesimple
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impersonatessimple
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have impersonatedperfect
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has impersonatedperfect
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am impersonatingprogressive
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are impersonatingprogressive
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is impersonatingprogressive
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have been impersonatingperfect progressive
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has been impersonatingperfect progressive
Past
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impersonatedsimple
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had impersonatedperfect
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was impersonatingprogressive
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were impersonatingprogressive
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had been impersonatingperfect progressive
Future
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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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.
See Examples For:
Tarrant said he was also aware of AI being used to impersonate his voice in messages and videos and it was "scary".
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
The mailings don’t impersonate, or claim to represent, a union.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
This means hackers gain access to data shared on Signal and can also impersonate the person whose account was compromised.
From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026
Detectives believe someone used the elder Hou’s cellphone to impersonate him for more than a month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
"They probably don't think anyone is stupid enough to impersonate Nazis and stop a transport. So they won't be expecting it."
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
This can occur when a company impersonates an airline’s customer-service number or site, often by buying a sponsored ad on a search platform.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
Kit impersonates her dad's voice: "Come on out!"
From BBC ● May 5, 2025
With Thursday’s criminal complaint containing allegations of phone conversations in which Mizuhara actually impersonates Ohtani to gain access to the money, I believe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2024
The fabricated quote originated on a parody Twitter account that impersonates Greene.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2023
Throughout his despatches, he always seems to feel that he impersonates his country; and the gravity and weight of his style are as admirable as its simplicity and majestic ease.
From The Great Speeches and Orations of Daniel Webster With an Essay on Daniel Webster as a Master of English Style by Daniel Webster
Last year, the AI startup removed chatbots that impersonated popular Disney characters such as Elsa and Darth Vader after the Burbank entertainment behemoth sent a cease-and-desist letter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
More than 60 of its organizations that provide direct legal services have been impersonated by con artists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
In San Diego, attorneys working for the city have been impersonated by scammers.
From Salon ● May 2, 2026
Career coach Gina Riley has been impersonated several times and sometimes finds herself consoling people who falsely believed she contacted them with a golden opportunity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
“I got on the phone and impersonated Ms. Helton,” she said.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Their younger brother, Tillotson, meanwhile, incites mayhem among local churchgoers by impersonating an angel, much to his sisters’ dismay.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Callers impersonating his department even recently targeted his own daughter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
The fabricated content appeared on X in posts impersonating legitimate French media outlets and falsely claimed that Attal had Parkinson's disease and that Philippe had contracted an illness.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
“There were too many fake profiles impersonating me,” Barton said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Then he started impersonating Frank Sinatra, singing “New York, New York” off- key and doing his lounge-lizard dance.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
