identify
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
- Synonyms:
- determine, know, place, distinguish
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to serve as a means of identification for.
His gruff voice quickly identified him.
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to make, represent to be, or regard or treat as the same or identical.
They identified Jones with the progress of the company.
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to associate in name, feeling, interest, action, etc. (usually followed bywith ).
He preferred not to identify himself with that group.
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Biology. to determine to what group (a given specimen) belongs.
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Psychology. to associate (one or oneself ) with another person or a group of persons by identification.
verb (used without object)
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to associate oneself in feeling, interest, action, etc., with a specified group or belief system (usually followed by as orwith ).
He identifies as bisexual. She identifies with feminism. My family identifies Hispanic.
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to experience psychological identification.
The audience identified with the play's characters.
verb
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to prove or recognize as being a certain person or thing; determine the identity of
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to consider as the same or equivalent
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to consider (oneself) as similar to another
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to determine the taxonomic classification of (a plant or animal)
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psychol to engage in identification
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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identifiabilitynoun
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identifiernoun
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identifiablenessnoun
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reidentifyverb (used with object)
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unidentifyingadjective
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unidentifiedadjective
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unidentifiablyadverb
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identifiablyadverb
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unidentifiableadjective
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identifiableadjective
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overidentifyverb
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well-identifiedadjective
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preidentifyverb (used with object)
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has identifiedperfect 3rd person singular
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have identifiedperfect
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has been identifyingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am identifyingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been identifyingperfect progressive
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is identifyingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are identifyingprogressive
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identifyingparticiple
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identifiessingular 3rd person
Past
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had identifiedperfect
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was identifyingprogressive singular
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identifiedsimple
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had been identifyingperfect progressive
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were identifyingprogressive plural
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identifiedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of identify
First recorded in 1635–45; from Medieval Latin identificāre, equivalent to identi(tās) identity + -ficāre -fy
Explanation
You might identify a Ming dynasty vase, a suspect in a bank robbery, or an ivory-billed woodpecker. Whatever it is, when you recognize the identity of someone or something, you identify it. The word identify is easy to...well...identify when you notice how much it looks like the word identity (a noun, meaning who or what something is). Only one consonant separates the two words in spelling ("f" vs. "t"), and they are close relatives in meaning as well. You can easily remember the meaning of identify, a verb, when you recognize that it’s just a way to express the act of establishing identity — in other words, saying who or what something is.
Vocabulary lists containing identify
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Emissions from the plant are monitored around the clock, and the data is rigorously assessed to identify if any breaches to the permit occur," he said.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
The wearables correctly identified REM cycles, but overestimated deep sleep—the hardest stage to identify without brain-wave readings.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
In these regions, solar X-rays are weaker, which makes it harder to collect the signals needed to identify surface elements.
From Science Daily • Jun. 6, 2026
Tumult during Feldstein Soto’s lone term in office was easier for voters to identify.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
Neither the Union or Confederate armies had consistent procedures to remove or identify the dead.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
