identical
American
adjective
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Also called: numerically identical. being one and the same individual
Cicero and Tully are identical
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Also called: quantitatively identical. exactly alike, equal, or agreeing
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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
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of identical
First recorded in 1610–20; from Medieval Latin identic(us) identic + -al 1
Compare meaning
How does identical compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When you're looking for exact replicas, don't waste your time on snowflakes or fingerprints; no two are identical, or exactly the same. Great mind may think alike, but they'll never be identical. Twins, on the other hand, very well may be — if they've come from the same split embryo that is. It makes sense then, that the word identical has linguistic roots in the Latin word idem, meaning "the same."
Vocabulary lists containing identical
List 3
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Measurement and Data, List 1
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Measurement and Data
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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.
So, for example, we see a pair of virtually identical 1961 portraits of a man in a white tuxedo, his face shaded with red flecks that are clearly made by hand when viewed up close.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
“Courts generally interpret identical language in related statutes to have the same meaning,” they write.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Two versions of the same molecule can have nearly identical chemical structures yet produce very different effects in the body.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
You can think of them as looking like our hands - not identical, but each a mirror image of the other.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Her simple tunic was identical to theirs, gray and hemmed just below the knee.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
