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as in pretence
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as in deception
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Recent Examples of imposture
The entire texture of that life, its willed imposture.
—
Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
Body Double Long before the imposture of Anna Delvey, the Tichborne Claimaint swept a nation’s imagination.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
Because such people are both brand-conscious and unable to detect the real thing, Miss Manners would be inclined to let the imposture pass.
—Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023
This imposture cows the enemy, but Hector slays Patroclus anyway, sealing everyone’s fate.
—Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
The print revolution’s past and future, valuing an empire’s impact, a saga of inheritance and imposture from Zadie Smith, and more.
—Wsj Books Staff, WSJ, 1 Sep. 2023
Buy Now: Desertion on Bookshop | Amazon The Fraud, Zadie Smith (Sept. 5)
Zadie Smith’s sixth novel—and first historical one—is inspired by the Tichborne Trial, a controversial case of imposture that divided Victorian England.
—Shannon Carlin, Time, 23 Aug. 2023
The narrator is an antihero with a genius for imposture.
—Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 20 June 2022
By the end, this newly bold Portia, empowered by imposture, is more singer than speaker.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022
Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
Body Double Long before the imposture of Anna Delvey, the Tichborne Claimaint swept a nation’s imagination.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
Because such people are both brand-conscious and unable to detect the real thing, Miss Manners would be inclined to let the imposture pass.
—Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023
This imposture cows the enemy, but Hector slays Patroclus anyway, sealing everyone’s fate.
—Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
The print revolution’s past and future, valuing an empire’s impact, a saga of inheritance and imposture from Zadie Smith, and more.
—Wsj Books Staff, WSJ, 1 Sep. 2023
Buy Now: Desertion on Bookshop | Amazon The Fraud, Zadie Smith (Sept. 5)
Zadie Smith’s sixth novel—and first historical one—is inspired by the Tichborne Trial, a controversial case of imposture that divided Victorian England.
—Shannon Carlin, Time, 23 Aug. 2023
The narrator is an antihero with a genius for imposture.
—Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 20 June 2022
By the end, this newly bold Portia, empowered by imposture, is more singer than speaker.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imposture
Noun
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This deception couldn’t come at a worse time for America’s debt.—
Thomas Kahn,
Chicago Tribune,
8 July 2025
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Unlike earlier studies that uncovered evasion or deception, this research exposed a more alarming phenomenon: models calculating that unethical behavior was a justifiable strategy for survival.—
Hamilton Mann,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2025
Noun
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From our review: Tessa Van den Broeck, a newcomer, plays Julie with zero affectation.—
The New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
-
No fussy affectations, just a deliberate tamping down of his more charismatic qualities.—
A.A. Dowd,
Rolling Stone,
25 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Megan Stalter’s challenge here is to come off more like herself and less like an imitation of Dunham, to resist the impulse to do Hannah Horvath in London.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 July 2025
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The challenge is compounded by the fact that many jurisdictions have weak enforcement mechanisms for intellectual property violations, lengthy legal processes that favor defendants and cultural attitudes that view imitation as legitimate competition rather than theft.—
Mohaimina Haque,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Noun
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That is how CrossFit die-hards who dabble in Qanon quackery and blame wildfires on space lasers end up as the face of the House GOP.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
Newsweek,
26 Feb. 2025
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But the thought of a person who spreads the kind of dishonesty, quackery and junk science that Kennedy habitually does — especially about our precious kiddos — is nothing short of stomach churning.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
29 Jan. 2025
Noun
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That is why this fiction is not built on facts, but rather on traversing the labyrinths of memory.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
15 July 2025
-
Girl, 1983 is still more deft in its experiments, subverting conventional ideas about fiction’s use of the truth.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
The Atlantic,
15 July 2025
Noun
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No, the movies in the novel are real, the suffering is real, the evasions and duplicities are real.—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
23 May 2025
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That yearning involves no duplicity or threats to others.—
Jay Tcath,
Chicago Tribune,
10 June 2025
Noun
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But his heart remained on the South Side, where fans appreciated him for his workmanlike approach, his quick pace and a lack of pretense.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
11 July 2025
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The federal indictment alleged that Combs and his associates lured female victims, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
2 July 2025
Noun
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The investigative methods and technical capabilities described are accurate representations.—
Lars Daniel,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
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Legal complications now surround the production, with a substantial defamation claim challenging the show’s factual representations.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Imposture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imposture. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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