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:
Beyond these minor wing differences, Sapkota could not identify any other consistent anatomical distinctions.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2026
Kushner also urged Europe to "identify one person to speak on their behalf" in the negotiations.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
Finally, cloud providers, telecom companies and AI labs should identify defenses that can work nationwide.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026
The department will also begin a process to identify where new stations are needed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026
She stopped several times when she couldn’t immediately identify something.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
These are made when a coroner identifies circumstances which create a risk of future deaths.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
“What identifies an individual as a king is how other people behave towards him,” says a quote attributed to the actor.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
Davidson, said Nvidia identifies parts of the AI ecosystem that are not investing enough and puts money into them to fill the gaps.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Brandon Whalen-Castellanos, a 32-year-old urban planner, moved to L.A. from Orange County seven years ago and says he identifies with Raman’s story as someone who moved to L.A. to “aspire toward their dreams.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
“Am I correct in saying, Horace, that paragraph four on page four of your autopsy report identifies drowning as the cause of Carl Heine’s death?”
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
Army officer arrested in the U.K. over allegations of spying for Russia was identified.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
Now, Costa Rican authorities say evidence points to multiple suspects — including Van Dyke’s 31-year-old girlfriend, who was identified only by her last name, Arroyo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026
The PPS said that while prosecutions were not pursued, this "does not diminish the gravity of the professional misconduct identified".
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2026
The Tribune told us it had identified a "staff member who had posted the articles on our website without authorisation".
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2026
An individual’s past convictions will still be considered, but not until later in the hiring process, when the applicant has been identified as a serious candidate for the position.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
"We're identifying alternate workstreams that can be applied to increase capacity," the tech giant added, without saying when service was expected to be fully restored.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2026
By identifying which substances are associated with potential risks, the team hopes to narrow the list of chemicals that deserve more detailed investigation.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2026
Good journalism isn’t just about being there first; it’s also about recognizing an important story and identifying something that matters to our readers.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2026
BBC Tamil visited a Chennai address listed by Agal Vilakku and another publisher named in the controversy, Phoenix Publishing House, but found no signs identifying either business.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2026
Most discussions of style over the years have followed Cicero in identifying, at least roughly, three kinds—the high or grand style, the low or plain style, and the middle style.*
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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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