11 results for: identify

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
i·den·ti·fy    Audio Help   [ahy-den-tuh-fahy, i-den-] Pronunciation Key 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]

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

1. distinguish, place, know, determine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
identify

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© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
i·den·ti·fy    Audio Help   (ī-děn'tə-fī')  Pronunciation Key 
v.   i·den·ti·fied, i·den·ti·fy·ing, i·den·ti·fies

v.   tr.
  1. To establish the identity of.
  2. To ascertain the origin, nature, or definitive characteristics of.
  3. Biology To determine the taxonomic classification of (an organism).
  4. To consider as identical or united; equate.
  5. 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.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
identify

verb
1. recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something; "She identified the man on the 'wanted' poster" 
2. give the name or identifying characteristics of; refer to by name or some other identifying characteristic property; "Many senators were named in connection with the scandal"; "The almanac identifies the auspicious months" [syn: name
3. consider (oneself) as similar to somebody else; "He identified with the refugees" 
4. conceive of as united or associated; "Sex activity is closely identified with the hypothalamus" 
5. identify as in botany or biology, for example 
6. consider to be equal or the same; "He identified his brother as one of the fugitives" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
identify1 [aiˈdentifai] verb
to recognize as being a certain person etc
Example: Would you be able to identify the man who robbed you?; He identified the coat as his brother's.
Arabic: يَتَعَرَّف على ، يُثْبِت هويَّة
Chinese (Simplified): 认出
Chinese (Traditional): 認出
Czech: identifikovat
Danish: identificere; genkende
Dutch: identificeren
Estonian: ära tundma
Finnish: tunnistaa
French: identifier
German: identifizieren
Greek: αναγνωρίζω
Hungarian: felismer
Icelandic: þekkja, bera kennsl á
Indonesian: mengenali
Italian: identificare
Japanese: 確認する
Korean: 식별하다
Latvian: identificēt, atpazīt
Lithuanian: identifikuoti, atpažinti, nustatyti
Norwegian: identifisere, kjenne igjen
Polish: rozpoznać
Portuguese (Brazil): identificar
Portuguese (Portugal): identificar
Romanian: a identifica
Russian: опознавать
Slovak: identifikovať
Slovenian: prepoznati
Spanish: identificar
Swedish: identifiera
Turkish: tanımak, kimliğini saptamak
identify2 [aiˈdentifai] verb
to think of as being the same
Example: He identifies beauty with goodness.
Arabic: يُماثِل، يُطابِق، يَعْتَبِر
Chinese (Simplified): 认同
Chinese (Traditional): 認同
Czech: ztotožňovat
Danish: identificere; sætte lighedstegn imellem
Dutch: gelijkstellen
Estonian: samastama
Finnish: samastaa
French: assimiler (à)
German: gleichsetzen
Greek: ταυτίζω
Hungarian: azonosít
Icelandic: leggja að jöfnu við
Indonesian: menyamakan
Italian: identificare, associare
Japanese: 同一視する
Korean: 동일시하다
Latvian: identificēt, uzskatīt par identisku
Lithuanian: (su)tapatinti
Norwegian: betrakte som ensbetydende med
Polish: utożsamiać
Portuguese (Brazil): identificar
Portuguese (Portugal): identificar
Romanian: a asimila
Russian: отождествлять
Slovak: stotožňovať
Slovenian: istovetiti
Spanish: identificar
Swedish: uppfatta som, ta för
Turkish: bir tutmak
See also: identify oneself with / be identified with, identify with

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: iden·ti·fy
Pronunciation: I-'dent-&-"fI, &-
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: -fied; -fy·ing
transitive senses
: 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>

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This

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) <can ask leading questions of a witness who is 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 <the disputed beans were goods 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 adjectiveiden·ti·fi·ca·tion noun

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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

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.

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