personating
Pretending to be
Personating is pretending to be someone else, especially for fraudulent purposes.
The legal sense dominates: He was charged with personating a police officer.
The word overlaps with impersonating but tends toward formal or legal contexts—identity fraud rather than comic impression.
Actors personate characters, though this usage is now rare.
Deceptive act or costume party
- costumeClothing for portrayal
- disguiseIdentity-concealing alteration
- incognitoWith identity concealed
- aliasAdopted false name
assumed identity · facade · camouflage · undercover · guise · doppelganger · double · lookalike
Intentional criminal trickery
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
- identity theftStealing personal data criminally
- conArgument against
- scamDishonest money-making scheme
deception · forgery · swindle · charlatan · hoax · false pretenses · misrepresentation · dupery
Copying another's manner
- copyingReproducing something exactly
- apingImitating closely
- parrotingMechanical verbal imitation
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
parody · send-up · satirizing · mocking · mirroring · emulating · mimicry · mime
masquerade
Deceptive act or costume party
alias · assumed identity · facade · camouflage · undercover · guise · doppelganger · double · lookalike · stand-in
fraud
Intentional criminal trickery
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
- identity theftStealing personal data criminally
- conArgument against
scam · deception · forgery · swindle · charlatan · hoax · false pretenses · misrepresentation · dupery · trickery
imitating
Copying another's manner
caricature · parody · send-up · satirizing · mocking · mirroring · emulating · mimicry · mime · impression
performance
Carrying out a task
- portrayalDepiction of someone
- characterizationDescribing distinctive qualities
- roleplayAdopt another's perspective
embodiment · enactment · stage · monologue · dialogue · audition · rehearsal · method · thespian · drama
personatingbeing oneself
Acting from true nature
self-identifying · sincerity · self-expression · unmasking · authenticity
personatingself-disclosure
Sharing private information
breaking character · unmasking · showing one's true colors · coming clean · transparency