identify definition | Dictionary.com

i⋅den⋅ti⋅fy

[ahy-den-tuh-fahy, i-den-]

verb, -fied, -fy⋅ing.

–verb (used with object)

1.	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.

2.	to serve as a means of identification for: His gruff voice quickly identified him.

3.	to make, represent to be, or regard or treat as the same or identical: They identified Jones with the progress of the company.

4.	to associate in name, feeling, interest, action, etc. (usually fol. by with): He preferred not to identify himself with that group.

5.	Biology. to determine to what group (a given specimen) belongs.

6.	Psychology. to associate (one or oneself) with another person or a group of persons by identification.

–verb (used without object)

7.	to experience psychological identification: The audience identified with the play's characters.

Origin:
1635–45; < ML identificāre, equiv. to identi(tās) identity + -ficāre -fy

Related forms:

i⋅den⋅ti⋅fi⋅a⋅ble, adjective

i⋅den⋅ti⋅fi⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, i⋅den⋅ti⋅fi⋅a⋅ble⋅ness, noun

i⋅den⋅ti⋅fi⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. distinguish, place, know, determine.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source

Link To identify

i·den·ti·fy (ī-děn'tə-fī')

v. i·den·ti·fied, i·den·ti·fy·ing, i·den·ti·fies

v. tr.

To establish the identity of.
To ascertain the origin, nature, or definitive characteristics of.
Biology To determine the taxonomic classification of (an organism).
To consider as identical or united; equate.
To associate or affiliate (oneself) closely with a person or group.

v. intr.
To establish an identification with another or others.

[Medieval Latin identificāre, to make to resemble : Late Latin identitās, identity; see identity + Latin -ficāre, -fy.]
i·den'ti·fi'a·ble adj., i·den'ti·fi'a·bly adv., i·den'ti·fi'er n.

Usage Note: In the sense "to associate or affiliate (oneself) closely with a person or group," identify suggests a psychological empathy with the feelings or experiences of another person, as in Most young readers of The Catcher in the Rye will readily identify (or identify themselves) with Holden Caulfield. This usage derives originally from psychoanalytic writing, where it has a specific technical meaning, but like other terms from that field, it was widely regarded as jargon when introduced into wider use. In particular, some critics seized on the fact that in this sense the verb was often used intransitively, with no reflexive pronoun. In recent years, however, this use of identify with without the reflexive has become standard and may have become even more conventional than the reflexive construction. Eighty-two percent of the Usage Panel accepts the sentence I find it hard to identify with any of his characters, whereas only 63 percent now accepts this same usage when the reflexive pronoun is used, as in I find it hard to identify myself with any of his characters.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Identify

I*den"ti*fy\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Identified; p. pr. & vb. n. Identifying.] [Cf. F. identifier. See Identity, and -fy.]

1. To make to be the same; to unite or combine in such a manner as to make one; to treat as being one or having the same purpose or effect; to consider as the same in any relation.

Every precaution is taken to identify the interests of the people and of the rulers. --D. Ramsay.

Let us identify, let us incorporate ourselves with the people. --Burke.

2. To establish the identity of; to prove to be the same with something described, claimed, or asserted; as, to identify stolen property.

Identify

I*den"ti*fy\, v. i. To become the same; to coalesce in interest, purpose, use, effect, etc. [Obs. or R.]

An enlightened self-interest, which, when well understood, they tell us will identify with an interest more enlarged and public. --Burke.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

Language Translation for : identify

Spanish: identificar,

German: identifizieren,

Japanese: 確認する

More Translations »

identify

1644, "regard as the same," from Fr. identifier, from identité (see identity). Sense of "recognize" first recorded 1769. I.D. (pronounced as separate letters), short for identification, is attested from 1955.

Main Entry: iden·ti·fy
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -fied; -fy·ing
1 : to consider as united or associated (as in interests or principles) identified with an adverse party>
2 : to establish the identity of <identifying the suspect>
3 : to specify or designate (goods) as the object of a contract —used in the phrase identify to the contract identified to the contract>
NOTE: Under the Uniform Commercial Code, once goods are identified to a contract, the buyer has a special property interest and an insurable interest in the goods. This gives the buyer the right to seek damages and other relief. This identification can be done at any time and in any manner agreed to by the parties or as otherwise specified in the U.C.C. —iden·ti·fi·able adjective —iden·ti·fi·ca·tion noun

Main Entry: iden·ti·fy
Pronunciation: I-'dent-&-"fI, &-
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: -fied; -fy·ing
transitivesenses
: to determine the taxonomic position of (a biological specimen) identify intransitive senses
: to undergo or experience psychological identification<identify with the hero of a novel>

Search another word or see identify on Thesaurus | Reference

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Advertise with Us · Link to Us · NASCAR® · Contact Us