identify
Frequently Asked Questions
- recognize—to be able to tell what something is (and often to know its name), as in He immediately identified/recognized it as a monarch butterfly.
- diagnose or pinpoint, as in My mechanic was finally able to identify/diagnose/pinpoint the problem.
- associate, such as with a certain group or belief, as in She’s known for identifying/associating with the party’s reform wing.
- distinguish, as in Her height identified/distinguished her as the volleyball player.
- establish (who someone is), as in He has been identified/established as the main suspect. Relatedly, to identify someone is to figure out who they are—to establish their identity.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Under the deal, Insitro will use its AI platform to identify the root cause of disease and advance AstraZeneca-nominated targets, the companies said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
But the meeting will also bring into sharp focus the failure so far to identify a unifying figure with the worldwide appeal to challenge Infantino.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Because the analysis focused on one geographic region and lacked a comparison group without strokes, it cannot establish whether the same trends apply nationwide or identify the factors responsible for the increase.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
But while AI could boost the efficiency and use of renewables, the technology has long been used by oil and gas companies to sift through geological data, identify underground reservoirs and streamline fossil fuel production.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
“So the police couldn’t use it to identify her.”
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said endometriosis can have a "devastating impact" on women's lives and said the government's renewed Women's Health Strategy identifies it as a priority condition.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
One of those wrongly identified was a Chinese American whose LinkedIn profile identifies him as a New York-based finance professional who graduated from Cornell University in 2020 -- four years before the alleged rape.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Then, artificial intelligence on the platform identifies patterns that lead to regretted purchases, which is ultimately supposed to help users spend less.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
The system identifies whether an enemy drone may be vulnerable to electronic warfare and executes a defense accordingly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
Neil pulls out a simple black-and-white business card that identifies him as a Guitar Therapist.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
On Friday, he identified it as a "challenge" to increase private capital investment in low-income countries that most need developing financing.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Google reported in July 2025 that its Big Sleep agent, combined with threat intelligence, identified a software vulnerability that attackers were preparing to exploit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
By revealing how a previously underexplored class of plant immune receptors can be engineered to recognize multiple fungal threats, the researchers have identified a possible new strategy for protecting future harvests.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
The husband, who remains in custody, cannot be identified to protect the anonymity of his wife.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Although he had gone dark after that, he was later identified in congressional hearings as the man who broke Purple.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Near the exhibit’s end, Philips van den Bossche’s panoramic 1606 print of Prague highlights the city’s towers, spires and bridges, with its ledger identifying the Cathedral of St. Vitus in particular.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Asked by reporters Tuesday where she had passed the bar exam, Zacharia replied: "When I moved to China," without identifying any jurisdiction where she was licensed.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
He said MI5's successes in identifying and expelling Russian spies from the UK had left the Kremlin dependent on paying proxies for attempted attacks.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
When several different microorganisms are associated with a disease, identifying the responsible bacteria, predicting outbreaks, and developing consistently effective treatments become more challenging.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Tam Lin gave him a book identifying edible plants in the desert.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
Vocabulary lists containing identify
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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