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 identify

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 identify

Contemporary Examples of identify

We have thousands of users who identify themselves as transgendered and they are welcome members of the Grindr community.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem
David Levesley
January 9, 2015
He loves the fact that, like on Grindr, users can identify as transgender.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem
David Levesley
January 9, 2015
Certainly my instinct is to identify with the police, no matter the circumstance.
A Veteran’s View: NYC Cold War Between Cops and City Hall
Matt Gallagher
December 29, 2014
The others are difficult to identify, since they reacted with other oxygen-bearing molecules in the soil.
Methane on Mars: Life or Just Gas?
Matthew R. Francis
December 17, 2014
The idea was to identify what they are and apply them to different snacks, beverages, and foods.
The Science of Ingredient Innovation
December 15, 2014

Historical Examples of identify

Why not take Farrell down to Brookfield to identify Mortimer.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
It did not need Mali-ya-bwana's whispered "faru" (rhinoceros) to identify the mound.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
It does not require a professional beggar or a licensed guide to identify him.
The American Mind
Bliss Perry
This is one of our most abundant mushrooms, and the easiest for the beginner to identify.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard
Its manner of growth and its delicate shape of white will serve to identify it.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard

British Dictionary definitions for identify

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 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.