identification

American  

[ahy-den-tuh-fi-key-shuhn, ih-den-] / aɪˌdɛn tə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən, ɪˌdɛn- /

noun

1. an act or instance of identifying; the state of being identified.

   Synonyms:

   affiliation, connection, association

2. something that identifies a person, animal, or thing.

   He carries identification with him at all times.

3. Sociology. acceptance as one's own of the values and interests of a social group.

4. Psychology.

   1. a process by which one ascribes to oneself the qualities or characteristics of another person.

   2. (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.

   3. perception of another as an extension of oneself.

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identification British  

/ aɪˌdɛntɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of identifying or the state of being identified

2. 1. something that identifies a person or thing

   2. ( as modifier )

      an identification card

3. psychol

   1. the process of recognizing specific objects as the result of remembering

   2. the process by which one incorporates aspects of another person's personality See also empathy

   3. the transferring of a response from one situation to another because the two bear similar features See also generalization

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Other Word Forms

• nonidentification
  noun
• overidentification
  noun
• preidentification
  noun
• reidentification
  noun

Etymology

Origin of identification

First recorded in 1635–45; identi(fy) + -fication

Explanation

Identification is what you show when someone wants proof of who you are. When you get pulled over by a cop for speeding, you better have your driver’s license on you as your form of identification! Identification isn’t just the card or passport you carry around in your wallet to prove who you are to others. You can also have an identification with a person if you share common beliefs, traditions, or values; then you can say that you identify with that person. Identification can also mean the process of recognizing or identifying something. You may have to wait to adopt that stray dog until the pound has put the pooch through an identification process, trying to see if he already belongs to another family.

Example Sentences

Their wallets were stolen, leaving them without identification.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

The technology allows for much swifter identification than previous surveys, which date back to the 1970s and are incomplete.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

"Our eX-GL approach effectively automates the interpretation of complex magnetization reversal process and enables identification of hidden mechanisms, difficult to discern using conventional methods," says Prof. Kotsugi.

From Science Daily • May 18, 2026

Assuming you have the vehicle’s vehicle identification number, you can also spend some money to get its complete history—owners, crashes, etc.—from such providers as Carfax, AutoCheck or VinAudit.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

His system worked well at identifying criminals with fake names and prior arrests, and it worked a lot better than the identification system it had replaced, which was no identification system at all.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Related Words

• description
• passport
• recognition
• testimony