identification

American  

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

noun

• identifications
  plural

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• identifications
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of identification

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

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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

See Examples For:

identification identifications

For all those registering, the application requires a state driver’s license or California identification card number, or you can use the last four digits of your Social Security card.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

"Sometimes we have to be out here, especially in these tumultuous times where people have to show their identification," said rally attendee Nicolas Hernandez, 39.

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

Formal identification has yet to take place, but the family of Jim Wither has been informed.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

British police devised the first criminal identification record of distinctive marks, and, in France, Alphonse Bertillon developed a system of anthropometry, or measuring and cataloging physical characteristics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

He was in uniform, and had identification, the keys to his truck, everything.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

In another instance, a model uploaded files to the internet to cite them without being asked by a user that was looking for the names and identifications of lakes larger than 5 million square meters.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

"DNA identifications of three 1845 Franklin expedition sailors from HMS Erebus" appears in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

Miles also presented scientific studies on the flaws of eyewitness identifications, and collected DNA evidence didn’t match him, according to the Innocence Center.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

This led to a deeper look into other factors contributing to wrongful convictions, including prosecutorial misconduct and mistaken eyewitness identifications, especially those made by witnesses with different racial backgrounds from the suspects.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

When we traveled in certain remote parts of the world, we would use other names and identifications.

From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben

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Related Words

• description
• passport
• recognition
• testimony

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