as in to play
to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior
likes to personate the man of the world, but he's still the small-town hick that he always was
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of personate
Till’s motifs swept though the ensemble, as horns, clarinets, bassoons, violin all had a chance to personate the character.
—
By Libby Hanssen, kansascity.com, 3 June 2017
By Libby Hanssen, kansascity.com, 3 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for personate
Verb
-
Also, Foley dealt with concussion symptoms and never played in the NHL.—
Jeremy Rutherford,
The Athletic,
5 Mar. 2025
-
China, too, still has an outsized role to play in the life of the American consumer, despite Trump’s longstanding political objectives in targeting the PRC, the USFIA lead said.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
4 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
What Timmy does brilliantly and what Jim really liberated Timmy to do, is not to impersonate Bob, not to do an impression, not to match him spot on.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
2 Mar. 2025
-
The phishing campaign employs malicious adverts that have been created to impersonate PayPal and display the official PayPal website, the report revealed.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Gone were the regal ceremony and traditionalism, replaced by a humility intended to imitate Christ’s poverty.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Xi has no reason to imitate Putin’s reckless break with Europe and the United States.—
Michael Kimmage,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Cuba’s foreign minister mocked NED on social media.—
Peter Roskam,
National Review,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Musk also mocked people who criticized the order on X, noting that workers could respond by asking an AI chatbot — such as Grok, owned by X — to create a list of accomplished tasks.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Both portrayed struggles within families and among different generations.—
Amitava Kumar,
The New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2025
-
Shifting the Household Financial Paradigm Historically, popular culture often portrayed men as the family financiers while women managed daily household tasks.—
Dave Birnbaum,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Comments by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) have been scrutinized by acting D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin as part of an initiative to prosecute threats against public officials.—
Andrew Solender,
Axios,
28 Feb. 2025
-
But no, Mayor Gloria, who has shown about zero ability to act as city manager, decided to waste the $4.5 million.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Personate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/personate. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share