identify

verb
iden·ti·fy
/aɪˈdɛn.tɪ.faɪ/

To establish the identity of someone or something.

Example

“It was hard to identify the shoplifter because the CCTV records didn't have a clear image.”

Other meanings

To disclose the identity of someone.
“The Associated Press will not identify the suspect of the crime because he is a juvenile.”
To establish the taxonomic classification of an organism.

Synonyms

place

Related words

nonidentified
preidentified
underidentified
unidentified
nonidentifying
unidentifying
deidentify
disidentify
identifiability
identifiable
identifiee
misidentify

Example sentences

“I wish you would identify as an original joke.”
Tatoeba · shekitten · CC0
“Can you identify the man who did this to you?”
Tatoeba · ddnktr · CC0

Word history

From Latin "faciō".

Where this comes from

This definition is adapted from “identify” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.