to impersonate
70
7.2
- verb
- /ɪmˈpɜrsəˌneɪt/
:
hacerse pasar por
- During the show, he would impersonate famous singers to entertain the audience.
- impersonate an officer
- impersonate a historical figure
We impersonate news reporters, we impersonate therapists.
- We impersonate news reporters, we impersonate therapists.
- On the contrary, the actual self of the actor coincides with what he impersonates.
- They're not truly being authentic because they're looking at other people's content and impersonating it.
- On a more serious note though, I would never impersonate a generic Asian accent, unlike some people on this stage.
- But impersonate, like on SNL, the best thing they can ever do for me is celebrity impersonation.
- Of course, the the album art is Weird Al Yankovic impersonating Michael Jackson in his bad era.
- Can you, can you impersonate your mom on a Tesla?
Examples
-
We were not charged, but we were guilty of impersonating English people.
-
This appears to be two young ladies impersonating us for Halloween.
-
And people wanted important guests at their weddings, so they rented actors to impersonate public officials.
Fiction book (1991) -
The penalty for impersonating an officer is prison.
-
We impersonate news reporters, we impersonate therapists.
-
Do you remember that time you impersonated the Postmates driver on the phone?
-
I think he was about to get arrested for impersonating a scientist, so they made him a bureaucrat.
Fiction book (1994) -
They may make up credentials, create entirely fake profiles, or impersonate legitimate sources.
-
In the meantime, still on the train, he enjoys enviable success impersonating a Soviet journalist.
Academic text (1999) -
The trickster impersonates the dying man and manages to procure a new will.
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
∞
2.3
To act as if something is true when it is not
186
2.7
Copy the way someone speaks, looks, or acts
172
6.1
To pretend to be someone you are not to trick people
118
3.7
To play a character in a film or play
43
5.3
To show yourself as a certain kind of person to make others think that way
26
6.9
To pretend to be someone else to hide the truth
22
5.5
Copy someone's voice or actions to seem like them
18
6.9
To make something or someone look real when they are not
3
6.0
Pretend to be a person or website online to trick people
1
9.9
Pretend to be another person to trick people or act in a role
Antonyms
How Accurate
Surface Forms
Morphology
impersonate = imperson (semi-transparent) = im + person + ate
The suffix '-ate' is clear, but the specific meaning of pretending to be someone else is not immediately obvious.
Etymology
Impersonate comes from the Latin parts in- 'in' and persona 'mask' or 'person', so imagine an actor putting on someone else's mask to become them; that's why to impersonate is to pretend to be another person by copying their look, voice, or behaviour.