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 identifies

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 identifies

Contemporary Examples of identifies

He identifies as transgender on Scruff but not always on Grindr.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem
David Levesley
January 9, 2015
She told a story of a fellow employee who identifies as a butch dyke (a lesbian who takes on a more masculine identity).
The LGBT Center That Changed Our Lives
Justin Jones
December 22, 2014
Hitchcock identifies the good stuff quickly, and his own ideas are almost always right.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
That goes without saying, as no one woman could aptly represent everyone who identifies within that category.
Lena Vs. The Feminist Police
Amy Zimmerman
November 9, 2014
He identifies as “brusque” like other New York City residents.
Andrew Cuomo Ignores Rural New York
David Fontana
November 8, 2014

Historical Examples of identifies

A French legend, on the other hand, identifies 'the man' with Judas Iscariot.
Storyology
Benjamin Taylor
At first she (like Janet) identifies sandwiches with biscuits.
A Tangled Tale
Lewis Carroll
Man sees the unexpected once and identifies it as hallucination.
Fantazius Mallare
Ben Hecht
He identifies God's will with his wisdom, and God's wisdom with right action.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy
Isaac Husik
To what extent she now identifies objects by their odour is hard to determine.
Story of My Life
Helen Keller

British Dictionary definitions for identifies

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 identifies

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.