impostor
pronunciation
How to pronounce impostor in British English:
UK [ɪm'pɒstə(r)]
How to pronounce impostor in American English:
US [ɪmˈpɑstɚ]
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- Noun:
- a person who makes deceitful pretenses
Word Origin
- impostor
- impostor: [16] An impostor is etymologically someone who ‘imposes’ on others. The word comes via French imposteur from late Latin impostor, a contraction of classical Latin impositor. This was a derivative of imponere ‘put on’, hence ‘inflict, deceive’ (a compound verb based on ponere ‘put, place’), which also gave English impose [15], impost ‘tax’ [16], and imposture [16]. It is the ‘deceive’ sense of imponere, of course, that has come through into impostor.=> compose, depose, impose, position
- impostor (n.)
- 1580s, from Middle French imposteur (16c.), from Late Latin impostor, agent noun from impostus, collateral form of impositus, past participle of imponere "place upon, impose upon, deceive," from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (see in- (2)) + ponere "to put place" (past participle positus; see position (n.)).
Example
- 1. How are you gonna know this impostor ?
- 2. He said he was a doctor , but it subsequently emerged that he was an impostor .
- 3. Meanwhile , it emerged that a man thought to have been the taliban 's second-in-command and flown by nato to kabul for secret negotiations was in fact an impostor .
- 4. Worse , since mr romney now tries to present himself as an ardent conservative , these policies have allowed the other candidates to denounce him as a flip-flopper and an impostor .
- 5. This impostor , who could speak french , german and latin , wandered about everywhere preaching without papal authority or the licence of any prelate , falsely claiming that he had received an order from blessed mary , the mother of the lord , to summon shepherds and herdsmen ......