identical
/ʌɪˈdɛntɪk(ə)l
/adjective
1Similar in every detail; exactly alike: four girls in identical green outfits the passage on the second floor was identical to the one below...
- For the final day, Torrance has picked an outfit identical to the one he wore while sinking that putt 17 years ago.
- It was otherwise identical to the other Pizza Express restaurants in every detail.
- To the untrained ear, the Wagnerian clarinet sounds almost identical to its more modern cousin.
Synonyms
similar, alike, (exactly) the same, indistinguishable, uniform, twin, interchangeable, undifferentiated, homogeneous, of a piece, cut from the same cloth;
corresponding, correspondent, commensurate, equivalent, matching, like, parallel, analogous, comparable, cognate, equal
informal like (two) peas in a pod, much of a muchness, (like) Tweedledum and Tweedledee
1.1(Of twins) developed from a single fertilized ovum, and therefore of the same sex and usually very similar in appearance. Compare with fraternal (sense 2).Siamese twins are identical twins who develop with a single placenta from a single zygote....
- If one of a pair of identical twins develops leukaemia, in one out of four cases the other will also do so, within weeks or months.
- In his place now stands Cary, Grant's identical twin brother plus an extra hundred pounds.
1.2 [attributive] (Of something encountered on separate occasions) the same: she stole a suitcase from the identical station at which she had been arrested before...
- The solicitor should not be exposed to two separate actions for the identical loss.
- Does a restaurant get three stars here only if the identical restaurant would get three stars in Paris?
Synonyms
the same, the very same, one and the same, the selfsame, the very;
aforementioned, previously mentioned, aforesaid, aforenamed, previously described, above, above-stated;
foregoing, preceding, precedent, earlier, previous
2 Logic & Mathematics Expressing an identity: an identical proposition...
- Two sets are said to be identical when for each element of the one set an identical element of the other set can be given.
- When the series terminates with the identical operation, G is said to be an integrable group; in the contrary case G is called non- integrable.
Origin
Late 16th century (in sense 2): from medieval Latin identicus, from late Latin identitas (see identity).