unidentified
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
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 case is now one of hundreds being reviewed as part of a pilot project involving a charity, Devon and Cornwall Police and the coroner's service to give names back to the unidentified.
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
Mali's military said it is fighting unidentified "terrorist groups", but details remain unclear.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
The confidential filing puts the rocket and satellite builder on track to list its shares on a public exchange by July, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified sources.
From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026
The book’s protagonist is Frank Friedmaier, a 19-year-old resident of an unidentified country ruled by foreign occupiers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
The husband was a small, timid man, sick with pneumonia caused by an unidentified microbe, and with only limited command of the English language.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
