identifyi‧den‧ti‧fy /aɪˈdentɪfaɪ/ ●●● W1 AWL verb (past tense and past participle identified, present participle identifying, third person singular identifies) [transitive] 
He was too far away to be able to identify faces. The police took fingerprints and identified the body.identify somebody/something as somebody/something Eyewitnesses identified the gunman as an army sergeant. The aircraft were identified as American.► see thesaurus at recognize2to recognize something or discover exactly what it is, what its nature or origin is etc: Scientists have identified the gene that causes abnormal growth. They identified a number of problem areas.3if a particular thing identifies someone or something, it makes them easy to recognizeidentify somebody as somebody His accent identified him as a Frenchman.identify with phrasal verb1identify with somebody/something to feel sympathy with someone or be able to share their feelings: Humans can easily identify with the emotional expressions of chimpanzees. He identified with our distress.2identify somebody with something to think that someone is very closely related to or involved with something such as a political group: She has always been identified with the radical left.3identify something with somebody/something to think that something is the same as, or closely related to, something else: the attempt to identify crime with poverty and social problems
WORD ORIGINidentify
Origin:
1600-1700 Late Latin identificare, from Latin idem; ➔ IDENTITYVERB TABLE
identify
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | identify |
| he, she, it | identifies | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | identified |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have identified |
| he, she, it | has identified | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had identified |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will identify |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have identified |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am identifying |
| he, she, it | is identifying | |
| you, we, they | are identifying | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was identifying |
| you, we, they | were identifying | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been identifying |
| he, she, it | has been identifying | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been identifying |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be identifying |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been identifying |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- After years of research, scientists have identified the virus that is responsible for the disease.
- Can you identify the man who robbed you?
- Dubois was identified by immigration control, and arrested at Kennedy airport.
- Experts are examining the wreckage, but the cause of the accident has not yet been identified.
- Greg had to identify the body of his wife.
- Police hope that a member of the public will be able to identify a man seen acting suspiciously a few hours before the murder took place.
- proposals to identify the fathers of children born to single mothers
- Researchers have identified the substances which can cause allergies.
- Sara identified the man as Kang, a notorious gang leader and drug baron.
- The airline says it will be difficult to identify all the bodies retrieved from the crash.
- The girl, identified as Shelly Barnes, fell from the window when her mother's back was turned.
- The victim identified her attacker in court.
- An element of public accountability can also be identified in the recurrent attentions of elected Members of Parliament.
- And both offices have identified the need to pay volunteers something for their work, or lose them altogether.
- Most plants in our aquariums identified as A. crispus are actually hybrids that were produced in nature or under artificial conditions.
- This will help you identify little-word buildup and, eventually, cut little words before you write them.
- Those friends, who were not identified, were invited by Bonin to witness the execution.
- We identified co-operative federalism with concurrent powers as a contrast to competitive federalism and exclusive powers.
- What matters is to identify problems and opportunities.
THESAURUS
to know who someone is or what something is, especially because you have seen or heard them before: · I hadn’t seen her for ten years, but I recognized her immediately.· Do you recognize this song?
to recognize someone or something and say who or what they are: · As they came closer, I was able to identify two of the group.· It’s delicious but I can’t quite identify the taste.
to recognize and understand the difference between two or more things or people: · By this age, kids can usually distinguish between right and wrong.· It’s often difficult to distinguish identical twins from each other.
to be able to see or hear something or someone – used when it is very difficult to do this: · In the distance, I could just make out the outline of an island.· He whispered something but I couldn’t make out what it was.
formal to notice or understand something by looking carefully or thinking about it carefully: · I thought I discerned a faint gleam of hope in his eyes.· A number of differences can be discerned in the data for the three countries.
Longman Language Activatorto find out the exact cause of something to find out the exact details or facts about something, especially by using technical methods and equipment: · "Web police" are often able to determine the exact source of unwanted mailings on the Internet.determine what/why/how etc: · Quizzes are used to determine how much material students have learned.determine that: · A survey of traffic accidents determined that seat belts reduced serious injuries by up to 90%.
to find out facts that will prove how something happened or what caused it: · We haven't yet established the cause of the accident.establish that: · It was quickly established that several members of the crew had been negligent.establish how/where/why etc: · They are carrying out research to establish exactly why so many species of songbird are disappearing.
to find out exactly what the cause or origin of something is: · After years of research, scientists have identified the virus that is responsible for the disease.· Experts are examining the wreckage, but the cause of the accident has not yet been identified.
to find out exactly what something is, when something happened, or what exactly is causing something: · Investigators are trying to pinpoint the cause of the fire.· Mechanics are having difficulty pinpointing the problem.pinpoint what/how/when etc: · The test is meant to pinpoint which types of jobs you are suited for.
to find out what is wrong with someone or something, especially what illness someone has, by making a careful examination: · If cervical cancer is diagnosed in its early stages, it can be cured.diagnose somebody as having something (=find out that they have a particular disease): · Several years ago, she was diagnosed as having Alzheimer's disease.diagnose something as something: · Programmers diagnosed the problem as a computer virus.diagnose what/how/where etc: · There are various methods for diagnosing what is wrong with a sick person.
to understand someone because you are like them to be able to understand and be sympathetic to someone, because you have the same problems, situation etc as them: · Group work helps children learn to share things and relate to each other.· He seems to have difficulty relating to others and expressing his feelings.· She's a great teacher because she really relates to the kids.
to like someone because you feel that they are similar to you: · Which of the characters do you most identify with?· Winters believes she has been successful because people identify with her and trust her.· We can all identify with these people in their desire for freedom and independence.
to publicly announce the name of someone to publicly say who someone is, by telling people his or her name: · She refused to name the father of her child.name somebody as somebody: · Police have named the dead woman as Annabel Thomas.
to officially recognize someone and say that you know who they are, for example in order to help the police: · The victim identified her attacker in court.· Greg had to identify the body of his wife.
to recognize someone or something also recognise British to know who someone is or what something is, especially because you have seen them before: · Lisa! I'm sorry -- I didn't recognize you -- you've had your hair cut!· I can't remember how the tune goes but I'll recognize it when I hear it.· That security guy never recognizes me. I always have to show him my ID.· They recognised my Michigan accent right away.recognize somebody from something: · I recognized her from the movies, but she was much taller than I expected.· I recognize you from somewhere -- don't you work at the bank?recognize somebody/something as something: · The waiter recognized one of his customers as someone he went to school with.· She recognised the voice on the phone as Tim's, but he sounded strange.
to recognize someone or something, especially when you have not seen them for some time or when they have changed a lot: · Would you know him if you saw him again?· The town has changed so much you wouldn't know the place.· You'll know him when you see him. He has red curly hair and is very tall and thin.
to recognize and name someone who has done something illegal or someone who has died: · The airline says it will be difficult to identify all the bodies retrieved from the crash.· Police hope that a member of the public will be able to identify a man seen acting suspiciously a few hours before the murder took place. · Dubois was identified by immigration control, and arrested at Kennedy airport.· proposals to identify the fathers of children born to single mothersidentify somebody as something: · Sara identified the man as Kang, a notorious gang leader and drug baron.· The girl, identified as Shelly Barnes, fell from the window when her mother's back was turned.
to recognize someone or something out of a group of things or people: pick out somebody/something: · Both men were picked out from an identity parade by witnesses. · It was hard to pick out faces he knew in the crowd.· Are there any questions that can help pick out a drug addict?pick somebody/something out: · I was listening for Steve's voice, but it wasn't easy to pick it out among all the others.
to be able to recognize someone or something, especially when this is not easy: · "What colour was the car?" "I couldn't tell in the dark."tell (that): · You look different in the photograph, although I can tell it's you.tell who/what etc: · There's someone on the phone for you. I can't tell who it is.· "Can you tell what this is with your eyes shut?" "It tastes of strawberry, but I'm not sure."tell the difference between somebody/something: · I find it really difficult to tell the difference between Frank and his brother.· If we don't use labelling, how can consumers tell the difference between organic and non-organic foods?tell something from something else (=to be able to recognize the difference between them): · It's a very good fake. You couldn't tell it from the real thing.· My kids have plenty of friends, and to be honest I can't tell one from another.tell two things apart (=to be able to recognize that they are different in some way): · Male ducks are easy to tell apart in the breeding season.· At the moment, we can only tell the twins apart by looking at their name tags.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The police took fingerprints and identified the body.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES It’s easily recognised by its bright blue tail feathers. The blood was never positively identified as the victim’s.
The police took fingerprints and identified the body. (=discover definitely what it is)· A team of experts is at the scene of the accident, trying to determine the cause.
It’s easily recognised by its bright blue tail feathers. (=find a particular gene which is responsible for something)· Scientists have identified a gene which seems to protect Chinese people from some types of cancer.
The blood was never positively identified as the victim’s.· The teacher can identify each child's strengths and build on these.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· A lack of clarity in policy has already been identified as one explanation for discretion.· Nearly 10 percent of all students were identified as gifted, compared to 8. 4 percent of the work-inhibited population.· These are composite statements, each taking into account the four factors identified as relating to difficulty.· We do not think that any particular content in philosophy can be identified as female.· On detailed assessment of her developmental level and language skills, Maria was identified as showing a marked developmental delay.· That other sailor was later identified as Jonathan Rushin, a 23-year-old petty officer third class.
· The majority of LEAs did not accept that a clearly defined technical ability could be clearly identified at the age of eleven.· Problems can be clearly identified through an audit, and solutions can be found to improve service and nutritional care.· Sometimes a carer is clearly identified by being a spouse, or already resident in the same house.· It has clearly identified goals and outcomes that are readily measured.· The cameras clearly identified the property on the counter and the vendors who produced it.· Public schools should not teach metaphysics without clearly identifying them as such.· They are both clearly identified as London-based, as well as apparently disenchanted and/or corrupt.
· The style was international, eclectic, easily identified, but almost impossible to define.· A chimpanzee is an easy recipient for human projections since humans can easily identify with the emotional expressions of chimpanzees.· Although section area and orientation differed among the tissue blocks, the epithelium and lamina propria were easily identified.· The upper level was diagnosed by the columnar-squamous epithelial border, which was always easily identified.· However it is easily identified by the large black blotch that covers a large proportion of its upper body and dorsal fin.· Of course, I am more easily identified and more distinctive, if not distinguished, than most authors.· Many potential purchasers can be easily identified with minimum cost using research.· This society seemed self-contained; those who felt exploited could easily identify the enemy - the landlord or money lender.
NOUN· Documentary research in the technical literature was undertaken to plan interviews and to identify key areas of technological innovation and technical uncertainty.· The commission did identify 60 areas where the tax code might be simplified.· This inventory identifies exactly which areas of the client's life are most disrupted by their problems.· We identified the postcode areas of patients and categorised them into three groups - namely, urban, rural, or mixed.· This would exclude land of scientific or ecological value and identify large areas where commercial growers could plant forests.· It identifies areas of existing or potential urban settlement where housing is encouraged.· At once more flares were identifying the target area and a fair concentration of bombs directed on the aiming point.
· We are here with Captain Thiercelin to identify the body of an officer who was killed earlier tonight.· In Los Mochis, meanwhile, bodies are being exhumed from the mass graves one by one as they are identified.· She'd paid the mortuary another visit, and this time was able to identify Pet's body.· Medical examiners are interviewing family members about any unique characteristics to help identify bodies.· Voice over Mrs Garvey's uncle Richard Moore, who formally identified the bodies, attended the inquest.· As darkness fell, rescue workers with flashlights began recovering and identifying bodies.· Rosemary told yesterday how she comforted Ann-Marie after having to identify Suzanne's body.
· He used Pareto analysis to identify the principal cause as a loose loading arm.· Such studies are often the first integral step toward identifying the cause of an infectious disease outbreak.· Try to identify any recurrent causes of stress.· Scientists have attempted for many years to identify a cause for canker sores but have not been successful to date.· You think an expert on the effects of explosives could identify and locate the cause of the explosion?· The real progress comes from identifying the cause of the error early and then eliminating the cause early.· It takes seriously the health and well-being of neighbours and is doing everything possible to help identify the cause of these problems.· Investigations have so far failed to identify the cause.
· Between 1945 and 1956, many research findings identified other factors which affected the blood pressure.· To deal with this possibility, you need to identify the factors that might affect voting rates among men and women.· This was confirmed in one of the survey questions, which identified 10 factors influencing decisions on where to place contracts.· All the complex factors that make children behave in certain ways will never be simple to identify.· The marketer must therefore turn his attention to how to identify these factors soas to be able to construct an effective strategy.· This leads to the establishing of a model which attempts to identify and compare growth factors for the two business groups.· This information will help to identify factors which shape their perceptions of the language and cultures of the Arab world.· A comparative approach will identify marketing factors which distinguish successful companies from less successful ones.
· And on top of that, you can identify which groups and most likely to discuss something and then Join the group.· I noticed a caption in my local newspaper the other day, identifying a group of high school cheerleaders.· We go along with the theory that younger listeners will identify themselves with the group Cancer.· In other words, the corporatist state identifies a few groups that control major productive resources.· Fans dress carefully in order to identify themselves within their group.· The identifying documents defined a group of mostly 40-and 50-year-old men and women from the West.· A Marxist writer would probably identify this group as the first stirrings of a black petit bourgeoisie.· Brightly colored sashes tied to sticks as flags identified groups.
· It identifies key issues directly affecting the company and gives advice on strategy or operations.· His commitment to the transformation of society through identifying and resolving structural issues is very intense.· In rural areas, with the small stocks identified earlier, the issue of sales can be particularly emotive.· The difficulty lay not in identifying the issues but in tackling them resolutely.· At the early planning stage Have you identified the ethical issues which may arise in your research?· This Strategic Overview has identified key issues to be addressed in future phases.· It is now time to identify these issues more clearly and see whether it is possible to integrate these different perspectives.· This research will provide such information and provide a clear picture of current practice, identifying issues raised by this.
· The student will learn more effectively through identifying the particular needs and problems of each patient.· School-based enterprises and service learning projects allow students to identify and address community needs.· Does it adequately outline assessment procedures which will identify the needs of the deaf child?· The infant can feel at one with its care-taker because the caretaker identifies with the needs of the infant.· The purchaser should identify the need for an independent valuation as early as possible to avoid subsequent delay nearer completion.· Instead, they identify customer needs and motivations.· The probability of socially disadvantaged children being identified as having special needs is very much greater than in other children.· Consequently this section deals with identifying the needs that drinking fulfils and developing alternative ways of satisfying those needs.
· And they all have that one identifying number with them.· A structural appraisal of the building identified a number of potentially serious defects which could arise in the event of fire.· The auctioneer will make eye contact with the bidders, and often will identify the bidder by number or clothing.· We may identify a number of different reasons for this lack of clarity.· Unfortunately, many of the identifying numbers have worn off, and drawings have been lost.· Each band was identified only by a number, and they were marked by adjudicators sitting behind closed doors.· Recent work has focused on the gastrin acid secretion feedback loop and identified a number of potential pathogenetic pathways.
· The contracting culture should mean greater opportunities for voluntary sector providers, but Mussenden identifies problems.· But they did identify problems with how jobs had been designed and how people were being managed.· The first step is identifying your particular problem.· However for examples 2 and 4, syntactic analysis would not identify any problems, because they are grammatically acceptable.· Educational plan for in-service education for staff is designed to help correct any identified problems or deficiencies.· Porter first identifies the problem that will be encountered if one proceeds with portfolio planning without explicit management of these interdependencies.· Monitoring the time and budget of each chunk allows us to identify problems and take corrective action.
· Between 1945 and 1956, many research findings identified other factors which affected the blood pressure.· So without doubt one of the most important and difficult problems in cancer research is that of identifying the other mutations.· The problem certainly runs in families, although research hasn't yet identified a genetic basis.· A five-phased approach begins with desk research, to identify and evaluate recent opinions of the contribution of marketing to corporate success.· Such research should help us identify which aspects of unemployment are crucial.· Market research will identify, for example, markets and their characteristics which are suitable for the company to enter.· Q8 Identify the major steps involved in carrying out a marketing research exercise, briefly identifying the problems associated with each stage.
· These are taken-for-granted groupings which assume some form of unity within each category without ever clearly identifying the source of this unity.· They also help managers who listen well to identify sources of reluctance.· The reader initially gets the impression that the purpose of the text is to identify Rimbaud's source of inspiration.· Journalists, sensing something rotten, have focused on describing the odor rather than identifying the source.· To identify the source of the problem, get familiar with the types of errors.· For perhaps half a minute we strained to identify the source of the engine noise.
· Todd identifies seven basic family types.· He identified two types or orders of each.· Stevens identified four types of measurement scales: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio scales.· The other fish we caught were the yellowfins, which we had identified as a type of immature tuna.· He identifies eight role types which refer to the potential contribution in terms of behaviour rather than knowledge or status.· We identified two different types of albatross, four species of petrel, and a tern.· It is possible to identify three main types of historical writing - descriptive, narrative and analytical.· We have thus far identified five types.
VERB· Simply asking staff to identify inappropriately placed patients is obviously potentially subject to bias from several sources.· He was never asked to identify himself.· The MiGs had also entered the zone 20 minutes earlier, but fled to safety when asked to identify themselves.· The married couple, who each received £40,000, have asked not to be identified.· The third member of the group asked not to be identified.· Concepts describing health One way of investigating lay beliefs about health is to ask what attributes identify a healthy person.· In conference, the group was asked to identify items they thought should be included in a checklist of standards.· Hope Correspondents were asked to identify that which is positive in their situations.
· The sleeves aren't continuous but are colour coded to help identify each arch.· I believe in helping people identify what they can do well and releasing them to do it.· Here's an exercise to help you identify how you're spending your time now.· This will help you identify little-word buildup and, eventually, cut little words before you write them.· The comments that follow are intended to help in learning to identify and reject unusable answers.· Educational plan for in-service education for staff is designed to help correct any identified problems or deficiencies.· Semantic analysis may also help by identifying a domain code for content words.· Using work and play activities, counselors can help children recognize and identify the feelings they express.
· The conference will seek to identify ways in which emerging technology can be more closely geared to end-user needs.· Our people need to seek out and identify those stories.· Both documents seek to identify the skills and understandings which their respective subjects should seek to achieve at different stages of schooling.· Even in the wake of a setback, the healthy organization seeks to identify signs of progress and evidence of innovative thinking.· In exploring why this should be, this introduction seeks to identify the choices for contemporary reformers.· The initiative will seek to identify the best examples of environmental management to be used for setting a benchmark for the future.· It has sought to identify what criteria must be met before any standard fees system could be workable.
· She has to try and identify the Brownie making the noise.· Scientists are still trying to identify the genetic combinations that are responsible for virulence.· From this analysis it can then try to identify ways in which marketing expenditure can be made more effective in each country.· Attorneys in workers' compensation cases involving stress often try to identify persons with whom the claimant is having relationships.· Take enough exercise. Try to identify any recurrent causes of stress.· Corps investigators were still trying to identify participants in the 1993 incident.· My purpose here is to try to identify these, hopefully without too much over-simplification or bias.· Teachers should try to identify criteria such as those mentioned above to guide their selection of content.
WORD FAMILYnounidentificationidentityadjectiveidentifiableunidentifiedverbidentify
1to recognize and correctly name someone or something: He was too far away to be able to identify faces. The police took fingerprints and identified the body.identify somebody/something as somebody/something Eyewitnesses identified the gunman as an army sergeant. The aircraft were identified as American.► see thesaurus at recognize2to recognize something or discover exactly what it is, what its nature or origin is etc: Scientists have identified the gene that causes abnormal growth. They identified a number of problem areas.3if a particular thing identifies someone or something, it makes them easy to recognizeidentify somebody as somebody His accent identified him as a Frenchman.identify with phrasal verb1identify with somebody/something to feel sympathy with someone or be able to share their feelings: Humans can easily identify with the emotional expressions of chimpanzees. He identified with our distress.2identify somebody with something to think that someone is very closely related to or involved with something such as a political group: She has always been identified with the radical left.3identify something with somebody/something to think that something is the same as, or closely related to, something else: the attempt to identify crime with poverty and social problems- interfere
- interference
- interferon
- intergalactic
- intergenerational
- intergovernmental
- interim
- interior
- interior decorating
- interior decorator
- interior design
- interior designer
- interject
- interjection
- interlace
- interlaced
- Interlingua
- interlink
- interlock
- interlocutor
- interloper
- interlude
- intermarriage
- intermarry
- intermediary