What does "impersonate" mean?

To pretend to be (a different person); to assume the identity of, especially when there is an intent to deceive.

What is a synonym for "impersonate"?

Common synonyms include: personate, act, act a part, act as, act out, adumbrate.

Pronounced //ɪmˈpɜːsəneɪt//.

//ɪmˈpɜːsəneɪt// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Verb

1
To pretend to be (a different person); to assume the identity of, especially when there is an intent to deceive. transitive
"The conman managed to impersonate several executives."
2
pretend to be someone you are not; sometimes with fraudulent intentions wordnet
3
To operate with the permissions of a different user account. transitive
4
represent another person with comic intentions wordnet
5
To manifest in corporeal form; to personify. obsolete, transitive
"The shepherds were impersonated, then the Magi, finally Herod himself. In course of time all the elements of a fully developed Nativity play had thus been introduced."

Show 1 more definition

"Are you suggesting that we impersonate policemen?"

From im- + person (verb-forming suffix) + -ate.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.