Choose the correct one-word substitution for: ‘A person who pretends to be what he is not’.
- (a)Mimic
- (b)Actor
- (c)Impostor
- (d)Hypocrite
Answer
Why
Correct — C. An impostor is a person who pretends to be someone or something he is not, usually to deceive: a man posing as a doctor, a police officer or an heir.
The definition speaks of a false self in general, with no mention of virtue or belief, and SSC's key reads that as the impostor → option (c).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)Mimic — Mimic names a person who copies another's voice or manner, usually to amuse. The copying is open, and a mimic does not claim to be the person copied.
- (b)Actor — Actor plays a part on stage or screen, and everyone watching knows it. The pretence is a performance, not a claim about who he really is.
- (d)Hypocrite — Hypocrite is the close rival: Webster's New World defines it in almost exactly the stem's words. Its narrower sense is faked virtue or belief, and SSC's key reads this general wording as a false identity instead.
Concept
A one-word substitution item wants the word whose dictionary sense matches the whole definition, not just one word of it.
All four options involve some pretending, so pretends alone decides nothing. The deciding question is what is being faked.
A mimic copies a manner, an actor plays a role, a hypocrite fakes virtue. An impostor fakes who or what he is, the sense this definition states in general terms.
Hypocrite comes close. Webster's New World defines a hypocrite as 'a person who pretends to be what he or she is not', the stem almost word for word, before narrowing it to faked piety or virtue.
The same dictionary defines an impostor as one who 'pretends to be someone or something that he or she is not'. Both fit the wording, and SSC's key marks Impostor.
Key facts
- An impostor is a person who pretends to be someone else, usually in order to deceive.
- Impostor is the standard spelling, and imposter is an accepted variant.
- Webster's New World defines a hypocrite as a person who pretends to be what he or she is not, especially to be pious or virtuous.
- A mimic imitates another person's voice or manner, often to entertain.
Study next
Common traps
- Picking Hypocrite for this general wording: a dictionary sense of Hypocrite fits it, but SSC's key marks Impostor.
- Picking Actor because an actor literally plays someone else, forgetting that the audience is in on it
The same word is keyed at 17 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.7, for 'A person who deceives others by pretending to be someone else', with Fraud among the wrong options.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.