variants
or imposter
as in pretender
one who makes false claims of identity or expertise
the man who claimed to be a prince turned out to be an impostor
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of impostor
The prospective mystery series follows Sonny, a teenager who wakes up in the hospital after a car accident to discover that his mom — his only parent, and his best friend — appears to have been replaced by an impostor.
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Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 23 Oct. 2024
Seeing a Santa impostor commit heinous acts amidst the backdrop of powdery white snow and the glow of Christmas lights was jarring and mostly novel for the time, though 1974's Black Christmas was, of course, ahead of that game.
—Steven Thrash, EW.com, 19 Oct. 2024
The same type of evil is in the bank impostor scam.
—Carolyn Rosenblatt, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
The trope is familiar from classic narratives in which the mulatto is always living an imitation of life, an impostor on both sides of the racial divide.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for impostor 
Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 23 Oct. 2024
Seeing a Santa impostor commit heinous acts amidst the backdrop of powdery white snow and the glow of Christmas lights was jarring and mostly novel for the time, though 1974's Black Christmas was, of course, ahead of that game.
—Steven Thrash, EW.com, 19 Oct. 2024
The same type of evil is in the bank impostor scam.
—Carolyn Rosenblatt, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
The trope is familiar from classic narratives in which the mulatto is always living an imitation of life, an impostor on both sides of the racial divide.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for impostor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impostor
Noun
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In Saturday's game at Arizona (1:30 p.m., FOX) ASU has the chance to do something it's done only once before this century: go undefeated in November, the month in which good teams separate themselves from early-season pretenders.Matthew Self, The Arizona Republic, 26 Nov. 2024
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Other pretender brands like Stellantis’s DS, and Hyundai’s Genesis look to be fighting a losing battle.Neil Winton, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Tartuffe, a charismatic charlatan, insinuates himself into the lives of a wealthy family, setting off a chain reaction of disruption and pandemonium.Del Mar Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2024
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But in Wicked, he's elevated to an even more sinister place — not merely a charlatan, but a fraud who has seized power and wants to use the magic of others to create a totalitarian world that answers to his every whim.Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 23 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Marino took the snap, pretended to spike the ball to stop the clock, and threw a touchdown pass to Ingram, who was open after rookie cornerback Aaron Glenn bought Marino's fake.Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2024
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But evidence compiled by academics in the U.S. and Canada as well as government institutions such as Colombia's health authorities is increasingly showing that some generics are of dubious quality, contaminated or outright fake.David Cox, NPR, 5 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Mark Withers, the prolific TV actor with notable roles in series like Dynasty and Kaz, has died.Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 11 Dec. 2024
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Zak Williams, the comedian's oldest son, opened up to People at the 12th Annual Bring Change to Mind Revels & Revelations Gala, an organization which the actor's 41-year-old son sits on the board of.Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Gould observed that Jerry Falwell had taken up the mountebank’s mission of William Jennings Bryan.Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024
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Now, this pallid Color Purple epitomizes the artistic dearth of an era when a cultural mountebank like Winfrey uses race and feminist guile to cheat us of America’s most creative achievements.Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2024
Noun
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The nomination to any responsible position of quacks like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo would put her to that test.Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 11 Nov. 2024
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Her favorite recording reminded me of a duck’s quack.Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
Noun
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When top deepfake detectors only catch the phonies 75% of the time, according to reports, being vigilant against fraud is vital.Chris Westfall, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024
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Romney had been one of Trump’s most strident critics in the 2016 election, calling him a phony and a fraud.Hannah Schoenbaum, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2024
Noun
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In a new interview with Axios at the Aspen Security Forum, Ramaswamy said while the new department would look for waste and fraud within Social Security and Medicare, large widespread cuts are unlikely to be enacted.Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024
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Ramaswamy said Wednesday that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will look for waste and fraud in those programs, including people receiving payments who shouldn't be.Erin Doherty, Axios, 4 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near impostor
Cite this Entry
“Impostor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impostor. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.
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