imposture
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle French imposture, from Late Latin impostura, Latin impostus.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
imposture (plural impostures)
- The act or conduct of an impostor; deception practiced under a false or assumed character; fraud or imposition
- Synonym: cheating
- 1774, [Oliver] Goldsmith, “Of the Earliest State of Greece”, in The Grecian History, from the Earliest State to the Death of Alexander the Great, volume I, London: […] J[ohn] and F[rancis] Rivington, […], →OCLC, page 1:
- Among an unenlightened people every impoſture is likely to take place, for ignorance is the parent of credulity.
- 1820, [Charles Robert Maturin], Melmoth the Wanderer: A Tale. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Company, and Hurst, Robinson, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 292:
- There is something very horrible in the laugh of a dying man: Hovering on the verge of both worlds, he seems to give the lie to both, and proclaim the enjoyments of one, and the hopes of another, alike an imposture.
Translations edit
act or conduct of an impostor; deception practiced under a false or assumed character; fraud or imposition; cheating
References edit
- “imposture”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “imposture”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Learned borrowing from Late Latin impostūra.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
imposture f (plural impostures)
Further reading edit
- “imposture”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
imposture f