DEFINITIONS
The
2019 WORD
OF THE YEAR is...

identify

[ ahy-den-tuh-fahy, ih-den- ]
/ aɪˈdɛn təˌfaɪ, ɪˈdɛn- /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR identify ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Content related to identify

How Does The English Language Handle Gender Identity?Transgender issues are nothing new, but many of the words surrounding how we talk about gender identity are relatively young ... at least by dictionary standards.
READ MORE
It’s OK To Use “They” To Describe One Person: Here’s WhyHas someone ever asked you to refer to them as they instead of him or her? Are you hedging because you can't possibly refer to one single person as they? What if we told you that they has been used to refer to just one person since at least the 1300s?
READ MORE

Words related to identify

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

Words nearby identify

identification bracelet, identification card, identification parade, identification tag, identifier, identify, identikit, identity, identity card, identity crisis, identity disorder

Origin of identify

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

OTHER WORDS FROM identify

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 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