From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishimpersonateim‧per‧son‧ate /ɪmˈpɜːsəneɪt $ -ɜːr-/ verb [transitive] 1 PRETENDto pretend to be someone else by copying their appearance, voice, and behaviour, especially in order to deceive people Do you know it is a very serious offence to impersonate a police officer?2 IMITATEto copy someone’s voice and behaviour, especially in order to make people laugh In the film, he amusingly impersonates a woman. —impersonation /ɪmˌpɜːsəˈneɪʃən $ -ɜːr-/ noun [countable, uncountable] He’s renowned for his Elvis impersonation.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
impersonate• Daniels faces charges of impersonating a Navy officer.• Harmon is charged with impersonating a police officer.• It's illegal to impersonate a police officer.• I got home to find him impersonating Elvis Presley in front of the mirror.• The Ona men impersonate Gods in order to suppress women.• Sammler noticed how his widow tended now to impersonate him.• They even had a small lounge where they could, if they so desired, impersonate Nero.• Little became very famous impersonating President Nixon.• The actors impersonate the totem animal, thus identifying and promoting a resonant connection with it.• The men themselves would impersonate these beings.• She makes a living out of impersonating Tina Turner in shows and films. 