Agency Dictionary
imposter
nounPronunciation: /ɪmˈpɒs.tər/
In Portuguese: impostor
Psychology & MindWhat does “imposter” mean?
A person who practices deception under an assumed character, identity, or false professional claim.
Etymology
An alternate spelling of impostor, from French imposteur, from Late Latin impostor, "a deceiver", from the past participle stem of Latin imponere, "to place upon, to deceive", from in- ("upon") and ponere ("to place"). The spelling with -er has been common in English alongside the Latin-derived -or form. The psychological term impostor syndrome, describing the feeling of being a fraud despite evidence of competence, dates from the late 1970s.
Usage note
Both imposter and impostor are accepted in English. Impostor, closer to the Latin, is more common in edited prose; imposter is frequent in informal writing.
Synonyms
- fraud
- charlatan
- pretender
- deceiver
- sham
Often confused with
- impostor
- Imposter and impostor are spelling variants of the same word, not different words. Both are standard in English.
Word family
- imposture
- impose
- imposition
Rhymes with
- foster
- roster
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.
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