impostor

noun

im·​pos·​tor im-ˈpä-stər How to pronounce impostor (audio)
variants or imposter
: one that assumes false identity or title for the purpose of deception

Examples of impostor in a Sentence

He claimed he was an experienced pilot, but he turned out to be an impostor. the man who claimed to be a prince turned out to be an impostor
Recent Examples on the Web Here’s the scoop on the best of mango juices and the watery, oddball impostors. Jolene Thym, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024 If Turner wasn’t so much a unicorn as a perfectly average horse in a convincing disguise, then who needs 22 more impostors? Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2023 More recently, further investigation found that third-party impostors had created fraudulent accounts at Wells Fargo, for which the bank denied any wrongdoing and said the problem was widespread across the financial services industry. Rob Wile, NBC News, 12 Aug. 2023 The concept of impostor phenomenon dates to the 1970s when two American psychotherapists, Suzanne Imes and Pauline Rose Clance, defined the phenomenon and began to do research on the subject. Soudi Jiménez, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023 Instead, Patterson’s Wells Fargo account appears to be a case of synthetic identity fraud — when impostors create new identities using a combination of real and fake personal information, such as names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and drivers’ license numbers. Gretchen Morgenson, NBC News, 4 Aug. 2023 The report cited in particular the rising number of impostor websites, which involve phishing campaigns with fake emails purportedly coming from Finra, as well as insider threats in which employees, either by accident or on purpose, access their firms’ systems to cause harm. David Smagalla, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2024 Mark Clark says the impostor theory accounts for a lot of inconsistencies: for example, Mary's odd southern accent. Maureen Maher, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2023 Prosecutors seek summer 2024 trial for Idaho college murders suspect Could suspected murder victim, back from the dead, be an impostor? S. Dev, CBS News, 24 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impostor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin impostor, from Latin imponere

First Known Use

1564, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of impostor was in 1564

Dictionary Entries Near impostor

Cite this Entry

“Impostor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impostor. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

impostor

noun
im·​pos·​tor
variants or imposter
: a person who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive

Legal Definition

impostor

noun
im·​pos·​tor
variants or imposter
: one that assumes a false identity or title for the purpose of deception : impersonator

More from Merriam-Webster on impostor

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