impersonation
Pretending another's identity
Impersonation is pretending to be someone else—adopting their voice, mannerisms, or identity.
Comedians do impersonations of celebrities for entertainment: His Trump impersonation is uncanny.
The word also covers fraudulent identity theft: He was arrested for impersonation of a police officer.
The line between flattering imitation and criminal fraud depends on intent.
Stealing personal data criminally
- phishingFraudulent credential harvesting
- spoofingFraudulent imitation
- deepfakeAI-manipulated video mimicry
- social engineeringManipulating people for information
account takeover · vishing · smishing · pretexting · cybercrime · scam · hacking · credential theft
Identity-concealing alteration
- pretenseDeceptive outward show
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
- con artistProfessional fraud perpetrator
charlatan · alias · assumed name · false pretenses · hoax · fraud · sham · cover
One who portrays characters
- comedianProfessional humor performer
- impressionistPerformer copying famous voices
- mimicOne who copies others
- sketchHasty informal drawing
celebrity · caricature · voice · mannerism · tribute · parody · satire · stand-up
Intentional criminal trickery
- forgeryCreating fraudulent imitations
- false representationUntrue depiction of reality
- criminal chargeFormal accusation of lawbreaking
- misdemeanorLesser criminal charge
felony · identity fraud · unauthorized use · prosecution · statute · consent · damages · liability
Sound from throat
- accentRegional speech pattern
- mannerismDistinctive personal habit
- gestureCommunicative body movement
- walkTravel on foot
expression · tic · catchphrase · signature · quirk · inflection · posture · facial expression
identity theft
Stealing personal data criminally
- phishingFraudulent credential harvesting
- spoofingFraudulent imitation
- deepfakeAI-manipulated video mimicry
social engineering · account takeover · vishing · smishing · pretexting · cybercrime · scam · hacking · credential theft · bot
disguise
Identity-concealing alteration
- pretenseDeceptive outward show
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
con artist · charlatan · alias · assumed name · false pretenses · hoax · fraud · sham · cover · ruse
actor
One who portrays characters
- comedianProfessional humor performer
- impressionistPerformer copying famous voices
- mimicOne who copies others
sketch · celebrity · caricature · voice · mannerism · tribute · parody · satire · stand-up · variety show
fraud
Intentional criminal trickery
- forgeryCreating fraudulent imitations
- false representationUntrue depiction of reality
- criminal chargeFormal accusation of lawbreaking
misdemeanor · felony · identity fraud · unauthorized use · prosecution · statute · consent · damages · liability · arrest
voice
Sound from throat
walk · expression · tic · catchphrase · signature · quirk · inflection · posture · facial expression · speech pattern
- political satireeditorial cartoons, political cartoon, visual satire, caricature, political satire
- cyber threatsmalware, phishing, hacking, virus, ransomware
- mock performancesparody song, mockumentary, mock trial, mock debate, mock battle
- Security Attackshacking, intrusion, phishing, spoofing, brute force
- humorjoke, jokes, joking, comedy, comic
- espionagespy, spies, double agent, double agents, spying
impersonationauthenticity
Quality of being genuine
being oneself · genuineness · sincerity · self-presentation · candor
impersonationoriginal
First or inventive
originality · innovation · invention · creative expression · authenticity
- celebrity impersonationMimicking a famous person
- online impersonation
- voter impersonationFraudulently voting as another