identify

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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR identify 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.

Origin of identify

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

Related formsi·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

Synonyms for identify

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR identify ON THESAURUS.COM

1. distinguish, place, know, determine.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for identified

diagnose, pinpoint, describe, spot, classify, determine, analyze, establish, find, select, name, separate, catalog, tag, place, distinguish, peg, card, determinate, tab

Examples from the Web for identified

Contemporary Examples of identified

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
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
So far, the mystery man in the morgue has not been identified, and neither has Mr. Douli.
‘We’re Going to Die’: Survivors Recount Greek Ferry Fire Horror
Barbie Latza Nadeau
December 29, 2014
I always loved monster movies because I identified with the monster and connected with it.
Tim Burton Talks ‘Big Eyes,’ His Taste For the Macabre, and the ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel
Marlow Stern
December 17, 2014
Two men, who identified themselves as brothers, were tending the bar.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything
Liz Seccuro
December 16, 2014

Historical Examples of identified

Ponds in the scrub could not easily be identified as channels.
Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia
Thomas Mitchell
I thought you identified—which man in the bank did you mean?
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
There is yet another object with which I have identified my tale.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
They are twin plants of the forest, and are identified with its growth.
Maid Marian
Thomas Love Peacock
Jacob identified and swore to the property—Mr. Baxter was seized.
Tales And Novels, Volume 9 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth

British Dictionary definitions for identified

identify

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 Formsidentifiable, 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

Word Origin and History for identified

identify

1640s, "regard as the same," from French identifier, from identité (see identity). Sense of "recognize" first recorded 1769. Meaning "make one (with), associate (oneself)" is from 1780. Sense of "serve as means of identification" is attested by 1886. Related: Identified; identifying.