identify meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

identify

verb

UK /aɪˈdɛn.tɪ.faɪ/ · US /aɪˈdɛn.(t)ə.faɪ/

Etymology From French identifier, from Medieval Latin identicus + Latin faciō.

7 senses

To establish the identity of someone or something.

It was hard to identify the shoplifter because the CCTV records didn't have a clear image.
The formal name of a national having domiciliary register shall be identified by the national identity card.1953, Enforcement Regulations of the Name Act:

2 more examples

A provision of law may not be construed as requiring a new grant to be awarded to a specified non-Federal Government entity unless that provision of law (1) specifically refers to this subsection; specifically identifies the particular non-Federal Government entity involved; and (3) specifically states that the award to that entity is required by such provision of law in contravention of the policy set forth in subsection (a).1994, Congress of the United States, United States Statutes at Large, volume 108, part 4:
If you have normal insulins with a normal oral glucose tolerance identifying nondiabetes, does it mean that you were never diabetic...2008, Joseph R Kraft, Diabetes Epidemic and You:

To disclose the identity of someone.

The Associated Press will not identify the suspect of the crime because he is a juvenile.

Biology, Natural sciences To establish the taxonomic classification of an organism.

A recent biological inventory uncovered 41 species and 2 subspecies of insects new to science and many species not before identified in the State of Washington.2000, Bill Clinton, Proclamation 7319:

To equate or make the same; to unite or combine into one.

Every precaution is taken to identify the interests of the people, and their rulers.1809, David Ramsay, History of South Carolina, volume II, page 80:
18 February, 1780, Edmund Burke, Speech on Economical Reform Let us identify, let us incorporate ourselves with the people.

To have a strong affinity with; to feel oneself to be modelled on or connected to.

Der Traum erhält eine neue Deutung, wenn sie im Traum nicht sich, sondern die Freundin meint, wenn sie sich an die Stelle der Freundin gesetzt oder, wie wir sagen können, sich mit ihr identifiziert hat.1999 [1899], Sigmund Freud, translated by Joyce Crick, Die Traumdeutung [The Interpretation of Dreams], Oxford, published 2008, page 117:
Cash endures because his most well-known songs—“I Walk the Line” and “Ring of Fire” among them—weave deeply personal narratives with which listeners of all stripes can effortlessly identify.2012, Christoper Zara, chapter 1, in Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, page 29:

To associate oneself with some group; to feel, or believe one feels, the same way.

Now, the vast majority of us identify with the second group, the one that believes in trusting the wisdom of the people rather than taking power away from them and concentrating it in the other hands.1983, S:Presidential Radio Address - 26 February 1983:
My lover and I are arguing about time. Specifically how much time I'm devoting to AIDS Action. […] I try not to take her accusations to heart. That is, until she says it. "You're more gay-identified than woman-identified."1988 February 14, Marea Murray, “Friction Between The Factions”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 30, page 12:

With as To claim an identity; to describe oneself as a member of a group; to assert the use of a particular term to describe oneself.

"The main message is that it's the interface between individuals and society that causes students who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual the most distress," said study first author Yue Zhao.2010 February 6, “Youth Who Self-Identify as Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual at Higher Suicide Risk, Say Researchers”, in Science Daily:

Synonyms: ID, clock, identify, ken, to make someone, notice, recognize, twig
Antonyms: misken
Derived terms: deidentify, disidentify, hyperidentify, identifiability, identifiable, identifiee, identifier, identifyee, misidentify, nonidentified, nonidentifying, overidentify, photoidentify, preidentified, reidentify, self-identify, underidentified, unidentified, unidentifying
Related terms: identic, identical, identification, identity, associate
Hyponyms: classify, denominate, know someone from Adam, know from a bar of soap, know someone from a can of paint
Coordinate terms: authenticate