identification
[ahy-den-tuh-fi-key-shuh n, ih-den-]
- an act or instance of identifying; the state of being identified.
- something that identifies a person, animal, or thing: He carries identification with him at all times.
- Sociology. acceptance as one's own of the values and interests of a social group.
- 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.
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Origin of identification
Synonyms
See more synonyms for identification on Thesaurus.com1. association, connection, affiliation.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for identification
Contemporary Examples
Her heartbroken and horrified brother, Sam Jones, made the identification.
The jogger had no memory of the attack, and none of the other victims could make an identification of the Five.
At about 10 p.m., a horde of Hungarian police officers raided the bar, demanding that everybody show their identification.
They set up an area for patient triage and identification to help them prioritize.
The Military’s Mission to Fight Ebola Might Be Dangerous But it Won’t Be Black Hawk DownNathan Bradley Bethea
September 19, 2014
A pharmacist told her the medication was for women—and her identification still listed her as a male.
Historical Examples
They looked at my identification folder and then examined me.
City of Endless NightMilo Hastings
Frau Augusta turned and glanced furtively at my identification folder.
City of Endless NightMilo Hastings
I do not wish to have any delay in my identification when it does come.'
A Woman IntervenesRobert Barr
He has no identification tag; he releases Peabody; seems not to know the penalties.
Slaves of MercuryNat Schachner
There is, however, one objection to this identification that must not be overlooked.
Byzantine Churches in ConstantinopleAlexander Van Millingen
identification
- the act of identifying or the state of being identified
- something that identifies a person or thing
- (as modifier)an identification card
- psychol
- the process of recognizing specific objects as the result of remembering
- the process by which one incorporates aspects of another person's personalitySee also empathy
- the transferring of a response from one situation to another because the two bear similar featuresSee also generalization (def. 3)
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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
Word Origin and History for identification
n.
1640s, "treating of a thing as the same as another," from French identification, probably from identifier (see identify). Sense of "becoming or feeling oneself one with another" is from 1857. Sense of "determination of identity" is from 1859. Meaning "object or document which marks identity" is from 1947 (short for identification tag, card, etc.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
identification
(ī-dĕn′tə-fĭ-kā′shən)- A person's association with the qualities, characteristics, or views of another person or group.
- An unconscious process by which a person transfers the response appropriate to a particular person or group to a different person or group.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.