n.
Pronunciation: im- ' päs-ch ə r
Function: 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 >.