identify

[ ahy-den-tuh-fahy, ih-den- ]

/ aɪˈdɛn təˌfaɪ, ɪˈdɛn- /

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See synonyms for: identify / identified / identifies / identifying on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), i·den·ti·fied, i·den·ti·fy·ing.

to recognize or establish as being a particular person or thing; verify the identity of: to identify handwriting; to identify the bearer of a check.

to serve as a means of identification for: His gruff voice quickly identified him.

to make, represent to be, or regard or treat as the same or identical: They identified Jones with the progress of the company.

to associate in name, feeling, interest, action, etc. (usually followed by with): He preferred not to identify himself with that group.

Biology. to determine to what group (a given specimen) belongs.

Psychology. to associate (one or oneself) with another person or a group of persons by identification.

verb (used without object), i·den·ti·fied, i·den·ti·fy·ing.

to associate oneself in feeling, interest, action, etc., with a specified group or belief system (usually followed by as or with): He identifies as bisexual. She identifies with feminism. My family identifies Hispanic.

to experience psychological identification: The audience identified with the play's characters.

OTHER WORDS FOR identify

1 distinguish, place, know, determine.

See synonyms for identify on Thesaurus.com

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of identify

1635–45; <Medieval Latin identificāre, equivalent to identi(tās) identity + -ficāre-fy

OTHER WORDS FROM identify

i·den·ti·fi·a·ble, adjectivei·den·ti·fi·a·bil·i·ty, i·den·ti·fi·a·ble·ness, nouni·den·ti·fi·er, nouno·ver·i·den·ti·fy, verb, o·ver·i·den·ti·fied, o·ver·i·den·ti·fy·ing.

pre·i·den·ti·fy, verb (used with object), pre·i·den·ti·fied, pre·i·den·ti·fy·ing.re·i·den·ti·fy, verb (used with object), re·i·den·ti·fied, re·i·den·ti·fy·ing.un·i·den·ti·fi·a·ble, adjectiveun·i·den·ti·fi·a·bly, adverbun·i·den·ti·fied, adjectiveun·i·den·ti·fy·ing, adjectivewell-i·den·ti·fied, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use identify in a sentence

Donors must also work together to identify which countries are being left behind and then find a way to fill the gaps.
Natural disasters are increasing. The world’s poorest are left to fend for themselves.|Jariel Arvin|November 20, 2020|Vox
A March report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute identified four alleged instances in which labor from the Xinjiang region has been connected to Apple’s supply chain.
Apple is lobbying against a bill aimed at stopping forced labor in China|Reed Albergotti|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
Police identified the victim as Marcella Johnson, 59, with addresses in Southeast and Northwest Washington.
Man fatally shot in Truxton Circle in Northwest Washington|Peter Hermann|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
Jensen thinks Bjerg’s strengths as player, which he identified as consistency and being “really good at understanding the right way to play the game” will translate to coaching.
The enduring and ongoing legacy of Bjergsen|Noah Smith|November 20, 2020|Washington Post

The report did not identify a cause of the suspected false positives, and LabGenomics officials did not return requests for information.
Hogan’s first batch of coronavirus tests from South Korea were flawed, never used|Steve Thompson|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
Ten of the callers identified the man as Jason Polanco of the Bronx.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yet only 24 percent of the 3,892 femicides the group identified in 2012 and 2013 were looked at by authorities.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting|Ruben Navarrette Jr.|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Like him, they identified the Airbus A320 as an airplane extremely well fitted to low cost airline operations in Asia.
Annoying Airport Delays Might Prevent You From Becoming the Next AirAsia 8501|Clive Irving|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Mr. Bachner found it by wandering through the market and identified a craftsmen here who works in a tiny booth.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He sometimes surmised that it was because he was too outspokenly identified with the diminished liberal wing of the party.
Ed Brooke: The Senate's Civil Rights Pioneer and Prophet of a Post-Racial America|John Avlon|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As a rule, however, even in the case of extreme varieties, a careful examination of the specimen will enable it to be identified.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
He bore a distinguished part in the war in South Carolina, and was closely identified with the early history of the state.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
The spirillum of relapsing fever can be identified by the method for the malarial parasite in fresh blood.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
A mortgage made of an unfinished article will hold the article when finished if it can be identified.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
When considerable numbers are present, they can be detected and often identified in cover-glass smears.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for identify

identify

/ (aɪˈdɛntɪˌfaɪ) /

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (mainly tr)

to prove or recognize as being a certain person or thing; determine the identity of

to consider as the same or equivalent

(also intr often foll by with) to consider (oneself) as similar to another

to determine the taxonomic classification of (a plant or animal)

(intr usually foll by with) psychol to engage in identification

Derived forms of identify

identifiable, adjectiveidentifiably, adverb

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

identify

OTHER WORDS FOR identify

Origin of identify

OTHER WORDS FROM identify

Words related to identify

How to use identify in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for identify

Derived forms of identify