impersonation

American  

[im-pur-suh-nay-shuhn] / ɪmˌpɜr səˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of pretending to be someone else, with intent to mislead or deceive.

   The argument for requiring voter IDs is that states must guard against impersonation and other flagrant voter fraud.

2. the act of mimicking the voice, mannerisms, etc., of another person, usually someone well-known and especially in order to entertain.

   As a youth worker he found he could make teenagers laugh by doing impersonations of movie stars.

3. the act of playing the part of a character in a play.

   In the one-woman play, her impersonations of minor characters don't ring with authenticity, and her body movements are a bit severe.

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Etymology

Origin of impersonation

im- ¹ ( def. ) + personat(e) ¹ ( def. ) + -ion ( def. )

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Explanation

Impersonation is when someone pretends to be another person. If you pretend to be your twin brother all day at school, that's impersonation. There are a few different forms of impersonation — some of them are harmless, like comedians who use impersonation to mimic the voices and mannerisms of famous people, or actors who play historical figures in movies. Other kinds of impersonation are harmful, including when a thief takes someone's identity (including Social Security number and bank information) in order to steal their money. Impersonation has the Latin roots in-, "into," and persona, "person."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

impersonation

This scam, known as the “green mirage,” has involved the impersonation of more than 400 mortgage institutions, and cost homeowners hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost money.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

James Austin Johnson, reprising his Trump impersonation from the American “Saturday Night Live,” crashed the meeting as the fictional Zelenskyy pleaded for restored Starlink access.

From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2026

At REDCAT, the superb Rosemarie DeWitt assumes Marvel’s place, standing in for Ford but never attempting anything as crass as an impersonation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

The law says the state Attorney General can bring an action if she believes a person “has engaged or is about to engage in the false impersonation of an employee organization.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Brian, typically, started doing an impersonation of Mom carrying on and sobbing, but no one was laughing, so he picked up his books and walked out of the house.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

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