What does impost mean?
Impost is a formal verb meaning to deceive another person by assuming a false identity or status. Its typical modern use is in investigations and reports: someone may impost a police officer, a customer-service representative, or an official in order to obtain money, information, or special treatment. The word often carries a stronger suggestion of systematic deception than words such as misrepresent, because it implies presenting oneself as someone else. Although impost can also be encountered as a noun, that usage is comparatively old-fashioned and refers to a deceiver or false claimant. Historically, it also had a fiscal sense connected with levying or assessing taxes. The related noun impostor, sometimes spelled imposter, is now the ordinary modern word for a person who falsely claims to be someone else or assumes an identity they do not possess.
To deceive someone by pretending to be another person or by falsely claiming a particular identity or status.
"He attempted to impost a senior executive in order to gain access to the building."
Now chiefly formal; especially common in legal, journalistic, and fraud-related contexts.
To impose or assess a tax, duty, or similar charge.
"Customs officials were authorized to impost duties on certain imported goods."
This is an older or specialized legal and fiscal usage.
A person who deceives others by assuming a false identity or status; an impostor.
"The court treated the claimant as an impost."
Now mainly historical or specialized; impostor is the usual modern noun.
The plural applies to the rare noun sense; the common modern use of impost is as a verb.
"The investigators identified several imposts attempting to gain access to the restricted records."
Calling someone an impostor may be the verdict, but the word behind the accusation began as a verb: to impersonate, deceive, or fraudulently impose.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does impost come from?
Impost entered English in the early 17th century from French imposter, derived from Latin imponere, meaning to place upon, impose, or establish. The same Latin verb is behind English impose and imposition. English later developed impostor and imposter for a person who deceives, while impost retained the meaning of deceiving or, in older usage, levying a tax.
Related word forms
How impost is actually used
In modern English, impost is chiefly used as a verb, especially in legal, journalistic, and formal contexts. The noun impost survives mainly in historical or specialized uses and should not be confused with the much more common noun impostor.
Easily confused with impost
Impost is primarily a verb meaning to deceive by assuming a false identity, whereas impostor is a noun meaning a person who does so.