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impersonator

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

12 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "impersonator", 12-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "impersonator" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "impersonator" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

impersonator is aEnglishnoun. It means: One who fraudulently impersonates another person. Often confused with impersonate and impersonation.

Key facts for impersonator
PropertyValue
Headwordimpersonator
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters12
Frequency rank#40,292
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of impersonator in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for impersonator is 12 letters long, classified as anoun. Corpus data places it at rank #40,292 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 18 documented wrong-spelling variants for impersonator, with forms such as "imeprsonator", "immpersonator", and "imperosnator". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "impersonate", "impersonation", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From impersonate + -or. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is impersonator, spelled I-M-P-E-R-S-O-N-A-T-O-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who fraudulently impersonates another person.
  2. 2
    An entertainer whose act is based upon performing impressions of others.

Etymology

From impersonate + -or.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: imeprsonator,immpersonator,imperosnator,imperrsonator,impersnoator,impersoantor,impersonaotr,impersonatorr,impersonatro,impersonattor,impersonnator,impersontaor,imperssonator,impesronator,imppersonator,impresonator,ipmersonator,mipersonator

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for impersonator

Misspelling Variants of "impersonator"

imeprsonator12immpersonator13imperosnator12imperrsonator13impersnoator12impersoantor12impersonaotr12impersonatorr13
Misspelling Variants of "impersonator"

Frequency rank: #40,292 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "impersonator"?
"impersonator" is spelled I-M-P-E-R-S-O-N-A-T-O-R.
What does "impersonator" mean?
As a noun, "impersonator" means: One who fraudulently impersonates another person.
What words are commonly confused with "impersonator"?
"impersonator" is commonly confused with "impersonate", "impersonation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "impersonator"?
From impersonate + -or. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter I in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.