identify

[ ahy-den-tuh-fahy, ih-den- ]

verb (used with object)

, i·den·ti·fied, i·den·ti·fy·ing.

1. to recognize or establish as being a particular person or thing; verify the identity none of:

   to identify handwriting; to identify the bearer of a check.

   Synonyms: determine, know, place, distinguish

2. to serve as a means of identification none for:

   His gruff voice quickly identified him.

3. to make, represent to be, or regard or treat as the same or identical:

   They identified Jones with the progress of the company.

4. to associate in name, feeling, interest, action, etc. (usually followed by with ):

   He preferred not to identify himself with that group.

5. Biology. to determine to what group (a given specimen) belongs.
6. Psychology. to associate (one or oneself ) with another person or a group of persons by identification none.

verb (used without object)

, i·den·ti·fied, i·den·ti·fy·ing.

1. to associate oneself in feeling, interest, action, etc., with a specified group or belief system (usually followed by as or with ):

   He identifies as bisexual. She identifies with feminism. My family identifies Hispanic.

2. to experience psychological identification:

   The audience identified with the play's characters.

identify

/ aɪˈdɛntɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to prove or recognize as being a certain person or thing; determine the identity of
2. to consider as the same or equivalent
3. also introften foll bywith to consider (oneself) as similar to another
4. to determine the taxonomic classification of (a plant or animal)
5. intrusually foll bywith psychol to engage in identification

Derived Forms

• iˈdentiˌfiable, adjective
• iˈdentiˌfiably, adverb

Other Words From

• i·denti·fia·ble adjective
• i·denti·fia·bili·ty i·denti·fia·ble·ness noun
• i·denti·fier noun
• over·i·denti·fy verb overidentified overidentifying
• prei·denti·fy verb (used with object) preidentified preidentifying
• rei·denti·fy verb (used with object) reidentified reidentifying
• uni·denti·fia·ble adjective
• uni·denti·fia·bly adverb
• uni·denti·fied adjective
• uni·denti·fying adjective
• well-i·denti·fied adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of identify¹

First recorded in 1635–45; from Medieval Latin identificāre, equivalent to identi(tās) identity none + -ficāre -fy none

Example Sentences

"One of the most exciting things is we were able to identify network regions we weren't able to see before," said Edmonds, a neuroscience Ph.D. candidate in Braga's lab at Northwestern.

From Science Daily

A prosecutor said they used the version that was first shown on CNN because they didn’t want Combs or his attorneys to be able to identify the source of the video and retaliate.

From Los Angeles Times

"Because we understood the underlying mechanisms, we could more quickly identify the right processing conditions to produce high-quality parts using the ring-shaped beam," says Chen.

From Science Daily

Wearing a bright red pixie cut and a Carhartt flanel, Diane Fridley, 71, worked to verify votes this week at a computer in the registrar’s office in Lakeport, scrolling her mouse across the screen to identify any issues with ballots.

From Los Angeles Times

Fairey noted that researchers have known about the compound for decades but have been unable to identify it.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• analyze
• classify
• describe
• determine
• diagnose
• establish
• find
• name
• pinpoint
• select
• single out
• spot