personate
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to act or portray (a character in a play, a part, etc.).
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to assume the character or appearance of; pass oneself off as, especially with fraudulent intent; impersonate.
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to represent in terms of personal properties or characteristics; personify.
verb (used without object)
adjective
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Botany.
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(of a bilabiate corolla) masklike.
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having the lower lip pushed upward so as to close the gap between the lips, as in the snapdragon.
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Zoology.
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having a masked or disguised form, as the larvae of certain insects.
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having masklike markings.
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verb
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to act the part of (a character in a play); portray
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a less common word for personify
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criminal law to assume the identity of (another person) with intent to deceive
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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personatesimple
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personatessimple
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have personatedperfect
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has personatedperfect
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am personatingprogressive
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are personatingprogressive
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is personatingprogressive
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have been personatingperfect progressive
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has been personatingperfect progressive
Past
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personatedsimple
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had personatedperfect
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was personatingprogressive
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were personatingprogressive
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had been personatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of personate1
First recorded in 1590–1600; verb use of Latin persōnātus “wearing a mask, masked”; see origin at person ( def. )
Origin of personate2
First recorded in 1750–60; from New Latin, Latin; persōnātus “masked”; see origin at persona, -ate 1
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.
His own affection for Hallam seems to personate the object of his attachment, and “sees himself in all he sees.”
From A Key to Lord Tennyson's 'In Memoriam' by Gatty, Alfred, Mrs.
Two children are chosen for these dignitaries, while the others call out the names of such flowers, fruits, or vegetables as each may decide to personate.
From Spanish Highways and Byways by Bates, Katharine Lee
He personate bad Envy; yet say so, He lickt at Homer's mouth, not from below.
From The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw, Volume II (of 2) by Crashaw, Richard
Corolla personate, with the prominent palate often nearly closing the throat, spurred at base on the lower side.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa
O, that she should have so much as ventured to personate either before him!
From Titan: A Romance Vol. II (of 2) by Jean Paul
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.
