noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The act or conduct of an impostor; deception practiced under a false or assumed character; fraud or imposition.

   "Among an unenlightened people every impoſture is likely to take place, for ignorance is the parent of credulity."

2. 2
   pretending to be another person wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

actingaffectationappearanceartificeattitudinizingballot-box stuffing

Example

More examples

"To reason and be mistaken, is that imposture?"

Etymology

From Middle French imposture, from Late Latin impostura, Latin impostus.

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