imposture

imposture
noun Etymology: Late Latin impostura, from Latin impositus, impostus, past participle of imponere Date: 1537 1. the act or practice of deceiving by means of an assumed character or name 2. an instance of imposture Synonyms: imposture, fraud, sham, fake, humbug, counterfeit mean a thing made to seem other than it is. imposture applies to any situation in which a spurious object or performance is passed off as genuine <
their claim of environmental concern is an imposture
>
. fraud usually implies a deliberate perversion of the truth <
the diary was exposed as a fraud
>
. sham applies to fraudulent imitation of a real thing or action <
condemned the election as a sham
>
. fake implies an imitation of or substitution for the genuine but does not necessarily imply dishonesty <
these jewels are fakes; the real ones are in the vault
>
. humbug suggests elaborate pretense usually so flagrant as to be transparent <
creating publicity by foisting humbugs on a gullible public
>
. counterfeit applies especially to the close imitation of something valuable <
20-dollar bills that were counterfeits
>
.

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • imposture — [ ɛ̃pɔstyr ] n. f. • 1546; emposture 1190; bas lat. impostura 1 ♦ Vieilli Action de tromper par des discours mensongers, de fausses apparences. ⇒ mensonge, tromperie. « Mentir pour son avantage à soi même est imposture » (Rousseau). 2 ♦ Littér.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • imposture — Imposture. s. f. L S se prononce. Calomnie, ce que l on impute faussement à quelqu un dans le dessein de luy nuire. Imposture horrible, manifeste. grossiere imposture. imposture aisée à refuter. se justifier d une imposture. il est aisé de… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • imposture — imposture, cheat, fraud, sham, fake, humbug, deceit, deception, counterfeit all mean something which pretends to be one thing in its nature, character, or quality but is really another. Imposture applies not only to an object but to an act or… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Imposture — Im*pos ture, n. [L. impostura: cf. F. imposture. See {Impone}.] The act or conduct of an impostor; deception practiced under a false or assumed character; fraud or imposition; cheating. [1913 Webster] From new legends And fill the world with… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • imposture — (n.) act of willfully deceiving others, 1530s, from M.Fr. imposture, from L.L. impostura, from impostus (see IMPOST (Cf. impost)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • imposture — I noun cheat, chicane, counterfeit, craft, cunning, deceit, deception, dodge, duplicity, fake, fallacia, false conduct, forgery, fraud, fraudulence, fraus, guile, hoax, hollow pretense, imitation, knavery, pretense, ruse, sham, sleight,… …   Law dictionary

  • imposture — [n] fraud, trick artifice, cheat, con, copy, counterfeit, deceit, deception, fabrication, fake, feint, fiddle, flimflam*, forgery, gambit, hoax, hocus pocus*, illusion, imitation, impersonation, imposition, make believe, maneuver, masquerade,… …   New thesaurus

  • imposture — Imposture, Impostura, Fraus, Fallacia …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • imposture — ► NOUN ▪ an instance of assuming a false identity …   English terms dictionary

  • imposture — [im päs′chər] n. [Fr < LL impostura] the act or practice of an impostor; fraud; deception …   English World dictionary

  • Imposture — Une imposture consiste en l action délibérée de se faire passer pour ce qu on n est pas (quand on est un imposteur), ou de faire passer une chose pour ce qu elle n est pas (supercherie, mystification, escroquerie). La nature d une chose ou d une… …   Wikipédia en Français

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