identification

[ ahy-den-tuh-fi-key-shuhn, ih-den- ]
See synonyms for identification on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an act or instance of identifying; the state of being identified.

  2. something that identifies a person, animal, or thing: He carries identification with him at all times.

  1. Sociology. acceptance as one's own of the values and interests of a social group.

  2. Psychology.

    • a process by which one ascribes to oneself the qualities or characteristics of another person.

    • (in psychoanalytic theory) the transference or reaction to one person with the feelings or responses relevant to another, as the identification of a teacher with a parent.

    • perception of another as an extension of oneself.

Origin of identification

1
First recorded in 1635–45; identi(fy) + -fication

Other words for identification

Other words from identification

  • non·i·den·ti·fi·ca·tion, noun
  • o·ver·i·den·ti·fi·ca·tion, noun
  • pre·i·den·ti·fi·ca·tion, noun
  • re·i·den·ti·fi·ca·tion, noun

Words Nearby identification

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use identification in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for identification

identification

/ (aɪˌdɛntɪfɪˈkeɪʃən) /


noun
  1. the act of identifying or the state of being identified

    • something that identifies a person or thing

    • (as modifier): an identification card

  1. psychol

    • the process of recognizing specific objects as the result of remembering

    • the process by which one incorporates aspects of another person's personality: See also empathy

    • the transferring of a response from one situation to another because the two bear similar features: See also generalization (def. 3)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012