unidentified
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
- unidentifiable adjective
Explanation
If something is unidentified, it's mysterious or unknown, whether it's an unidentified flying object or an unidentified fruit that turns up in your grocery cart. Being unidentified means having an unknown identity, from a Latin root meaning "sameness." If you can't determine the identity of a person, like the victim of a crime or a new student at school, they're unidentified. And if your dog brings something disgusting inside, but you can't figure out what on earth it is, just call it an unidentified object and toss it in the garbage!
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.
The airman, an unidentified colonel as we write this, climbed into mountainous terrain despite his injuries to escape detection and await a rescue once the U.S. located him.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, which cited unidentified police sources in its reporting, there were spinning air ducts recently fitted to the shipping container, a job likely to require more than one person.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
The unidentified woman says she tried to take photos of each dog as officials took them off the property, but was pushed back and not permitted to do so, according to a separate video.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026
Researchers now suggest that this cold phase may have been triggered by a major volcanic eruption in Germany or possibly an eruption from an as yet unidentified volcano.
From Science Daily • Mar. 20, 2026
In one cabin they found, sitting on the table, a frozen lump of unidentified meat.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
