impostor
noun
[ ɪmˈpɒstə ]
• a person who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive others, especially for fraudulent gain.
• "the charity has warned anyone approached by the impostor to contact police immediately"
Similar:
impersonator,
masquerader,
pretender,
deceiver,
hoaxer,
fake,
fraud,
sham,
humbug,
charlatan,
quack,
mountebank,
trickster,
fraudster,
swindler,
hoodwinker,
bluffer,
deluder,
duper,
cheat,
cheater,
defrauder,
exploiter,
rogue,
wolf in sheep's clothing,
phoney,
con man,
con artist,
flimflammer,
flimflam man,
confidence man/woman,
Origin:
late 16th century (in early use spelled imposture, and sometimes confused with imposture in meaning): from French imposteur, from late Latin impostor, contraction of impositor, from Latin imponere (see impose).
