unidentified
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
If something is unidentified, it's mysterious or unknown, whether it's an unidentified flying object or an unidentified fruit that turns up in your grocery cart. Being unidentified means having an unknown identity, from a Latin root meaning "sameness." If you can't determine the identity of a person, like the victim of a crime or a new student at school, they're unidentified. And if your dog brings something disgusting inside, but you can't figure out what on earth it is, just call it an unidentified object and toss it in the garbage!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The unidentified person, who was working in the Democratic Republic of Congo, will be flown to Germany for treatment.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
Diet could help answer one of the biggest mysteries raised by the fossils: how did early Homo and this unidentified Australopithecus share the same place?
From Science Daily • May 16, 2026
The Sierra Madre Police Department said Saturday that a man — at that point unidentified — died after having a medical emergency on the trail and that no foul play was suspected.
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026
Iran's Fars news agency later cited an unidentified source as saying that vessel had been "sailing under the US flag and belonged to the United States".
From BBC • May 10, 2026
Somewhere in the jungle, an unidentified bird trilled, cawed, and fell silent.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
