identify
[ ahy-den-tuh-fahy, ih-den- ]
/ aɪˈdɛn təˌfaɪ, ɪˈdɛn- /
verb (used with object), i·den·ti·fied, i·den·ti·fy·ing.
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.
Nearby words
Origin of identify
SYNONYMS FOR identify
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for identify
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 Formsidentifiable, adjectiveidentifiably, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for identify
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper