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 US said "unidentified remains" had been found, with verification of the remains ongoing.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
An unidentified man was found dead early Wednesday inside a water-pumping plant in the desert near the California-Arizona border, authorities said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
A Norwegian tanker was hit by an explosion caused by an unidentified device off the Omani coast early Tuesday, the crisis response company MTI Network said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Minutes later, officials radioed that a caller who reached 911—an unidentified woman who said she wasn’t in the home and was driving from Baltimore to the address—had told dispatchers his front door was unlocked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
All of them, Sergeant Gordo told her, were dead and unidentified.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
