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identify

verb

Simple meaning

To equate or make the same.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

eyedehntuhfy

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

aɪˈdɛntəfaɪ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To disclose the identity of someone.

  2. transitive

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

  3. intransitive

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

  4. reflexive

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

  5. reflexivewith 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.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To disclose the identity of someone.

Used this way, identify is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

clearly identifyeasily identify

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • identifiernounInflected form

    A symbol that establishes the identity of the one bearing it.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • identifiableadjectiveDerived adjective

    Capable of being identified.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • identificationnounRelated term

    The act of designating or identifying something.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.