Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To establish or recognize the identity of; ascertain as a certain person or thing.
- intransitive verb Biology To determine the taxonomic classification of (an organism).
- intransitive verb To ascertain as having a certain characteristic or feature.
- intransitive verb To consider as identical or united; equate.
- intransitive verb To associate or affiliate closely with.
- intransitive verb To consider oneself as sharing certain characteristics or attitudes as another.
- intransitive verb To associate oneself with or admire something, such as a set of ideas.
- intransitive verb To self-identify.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make to be the same; unite or combine in such a manner as to make one; treat as having the same use; consider as the same in effect; represent as the same.
- To determine or establish the identity of; ascertain that something met with is identical with something otherwise known; ascertain what a given thing or who a given person is; specifically, in natural history, to determine to what species a given specimen belongs: as, the child was identified by its clothing; the owner identified his goods.
- To mark or characterize in such a way as to show what the thing marked is; serve as a means of identification for.
- To make one's self a part of (an organization, movement, cause, etc.); be conspicuously active in the promotion of: as, he early identified himself with the abolition movement.
- To become the same; coalesce in interest, purpose, use, effect, etc.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb 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.
- transitive verb To establish the identity of; to prove to be the same with something described, claimed, or asserted.
- intransitive verb Obs. or R. To become the same; to coalesce in interest, purpose, use, effect, etc.
- intransitive verb To coalesce in interest, purpose, use, effect, etc.; to associate oneself in name, goals, or feelings; usually used with with.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To
establish theidentity of someone or something. - verb transitive (
biology ) To establish thetaxonomic classification of anorganism . - verb transitive To
equate two or more things. - verb reflexive To have a strong
affinity with ; to feel oneself to be modelled on or connected to. - verb intransitive To
associate oneself with some group. - verb intransitive To claim an identity; to describe oneself as a member of a group; to assert the use of a particular term to describe oneself.
- verb transitive, topology To
map a number ofpoints toone .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb identify as in botany or biology, for example
- verb consider (oneself) as similar to somebody else
- verb consider to be equal or the same
- verb give the name or identifying characteristics of; refer to by name or some other identifying characteristic property
- verb recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something
- verb conceive of as united or associated
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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But to avoid stereotypes and give the character a trait with which the reader can identify is a way to engage them and carry them along for the ride.
Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » Answering Questions on Characterization 2009
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What the two cartoon characters readily identify is that the government of Taiwan is still engaged in a civilizing project aimed against citizens it feels are lacking and in need of the strong authority of the KMT to transform them into “better” and possibly more “loyal” citizens.
Global Voices in English » Taiwan: Racist cartoon causes controversy 2009
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The sin that I need to discern, root out and identify is my own.
Mark Osler: Repentance of an Anti-Gay Bigot Mark Osler 2010
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What I was attempting to identify is that many parents and children do not understand all the potential dangers associated with sports-related head injuries.
Helene Pavlov: Sports and the Adolescent Brain Helene Pavlov 2010
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I'm not sure if identify is the right word, but I have a great deal of respect for Zora Neale Hurston whose writing is brilliant and whose path was difficult.
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The sin that I need to discern, root out and identify is my own.
Mark Osler: Repentance of an Anti-Gay Bigot Mark Osler 2010
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Michael's supposed assumptions do not seem to be easy to identify from the brief statements he made in his post.
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First of all, I entirely agree with Officer and a Lady when she writes that police officers are members of society and perhaps part of the problem that I have tried to identify is that both the police and civilians can lose sight of this important feature of our policing system and the philosophy of consent which always used to underpin it.
Question: When Is Crime a Good Thing? « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009
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The sin that I need to discern, root out and identify is my own.
Mark Osler: Repentance of an Anti-Gay Bigot Mark Osler 2010
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What I was attempting to identify is that many parents and children do not understand all the potential dangers associated with sports-related head injuries.
Helene Pavlov: Sports and the Adolescent Brain Helene Pavlov 2010
whichbe commented on the word identify
Abstractly, this is a contranym. One is making difference ("Your name/distinction is _____") while connecting sameness ("This is part of me!").
May 14, 2008