impostor
Americannoun
-
impostors
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of impostor
1580–90; < Late Latin, equivalent to Latin impos ( i )-, variant stem of impōnere to deceive, place on ( see impone) + -tor -tor
Vocabulary lists containing impostor
"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 3
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"The Millionaire Miser"
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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:
“So this was like impostor syndrome to the max.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
“It’s actually impostor syndrome to the max and really terrifying, but I know what this film is. I’ve watched it 100 times in my head.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
He said the "lone impostor" explanation did not add up.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Among the takeaways from columnist Callum Borchers’s conversations with women who make at least $775,000 a year: Thick skin is overrated and impostor syndrome isn’t always bad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
The impostor rolled his eyes, and I shook my head and continued.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
“Additionally, many AI impostors will be revealed this year as well; the 2026 equivalents to Pets.com will not make it through to 2027.”
From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026
Right now, dating apps are falling out of favor with those treasured demographics, not least thanks to the prevalence of catfishing impostors and nonstop deluges of fake dating options.
From Slate ● May 17, 2024
“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster,” she recites, “And treat those two impostors just the same.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2024
One of fiction’s most famous impostors returns on Thursday with the debut of Netflix’s “Ripley,” the latest adaptation of a character invented in the 1950s by the author Patricia Highsmith.
From New York Times ● Apr. 3, 2024
Maybe they’re not your parents at all, but impostors.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
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.
