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Synonyms

identical

American  
[ahy-den-ti-kuhl, ih-den-] / aɪˈdɛn tɪ kəl, ɪˈdɛn- /

adjective

  1. similar or alike in every way.

    The two cars are identical except for their license plates.

  2. being the very same; selfsame.

    This is the identical room we stayed in last year.

  3. agreeing exactly.

    identical opinions.
    Synonyms:
    equal, congruent, congruous
identical British  
/ aɪˈdɛntɪkəl /

adjective

  1. Also called: numerically identical.  being one and the same individual

    Cicero and Tully are identical

  2. Also called: quantitatively identical.  exactly alike, equal, or agreeing

  3. designating either or both of a pair of twins of the same sex who developed from a single fertilized ovum that split into two Compare fraternal

"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

Other Word Forms

  • identically adverb
  • identicalness noun
  • nonidentical adjective
  • pseudoidentical adjective
  • quasi-identical adjective
  • quasi-identically adverb
  • unidentical adjective
  • unidentically adverb

Etymology

Origin of identical

First recorded in 1610–20; from Medieval Latin identic(us) identic + -al 1

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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.

But benefiting from capital intensity and earning attractive returns on invested capital aren’t identical outcomes.

From Barron's

Even animals raised under nearly identical conditions can age differently and live for very different lengths of time.

From Science Daily

Because the WS2 layer was continuous across the sample, researchers could directly compare emission from different regions under identical conditions.

From Science Daily

The company found that 40% to 60% of the domains cited in AI responses were completely different just a month later, even when they asked identical questions.

From The Wall Street Journal

On Friday the Press and Journal newspaper reported an identical email had been sent to staff at the Castlegate venue in Aberdeen.

From BBC

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.