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:
"We can identify that marine resources are passed along the food chain and incorporated in the minerals of bones and teeth of dinosaurs, crocodiles, turtles, and fish."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 15, 2026
The department said the cameras would help identify people involved in human trafficking and people targeting minors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2026
Police stated they were carrying out a substantial investigation to identify those responsible.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2026
It said employees don’t watch live feeds of deliveries and that drones don’t identify people, use facial recognition or capture audio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 15, 2026
“I’m studying the reflection in this store window, trying to identify which city they’re in.”
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
However, the real beneficiaries may be in emerging markets, where Wood identifies India is profiting from a rotation in asset allocation, having been out of favor for a couple of years.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 13, 2026
This method identifies molecules by measuring characteristics related to their mass, but the sheer number of possible peptides makes searching for new hormones a demanding process.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
Established in 2012, the scheme runs workshops in Welsh schools, where the company identifies children it believes have natural ability in dance but are not in any formal training.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 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
MacGyver always identifies his enemy’s big weakness first.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
Parag Thatte and Binky Chadha identified multiyear “upcycles” in equity issuance over the past three decades.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 15, 2026
Future federal funding of California’s coastal management program is suspended, “unless and until the identified deficiencies are satisfactorily addressed.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2026
FAA officials identified a feature on the router that appeared to be resulting in the data overload, according to government and industry officials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 15, 2026
Among the 31 newly identified quasars, 12 have a redshift of 7 or greater.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 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
The researchers hope that identifying more accurate warning signs could help doctors direct preventive treatments toward the patients most likely to benefit.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 15, 2026
The problem might not be identifying the pupils that need help, but finding the funding to help them.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2026
"Across Venezuela, we're identifying heavy machinery worth saving after years of neglect," he said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2026
The new findings provide a starting point for identifying which brain regions might be useful treatment targets.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2026
Specific receptor proteins have been proposed, with different olfactory cells carrying specific receptors for different “primary” odors, but no one has yet succeeded in identifying the receptors or naming the “primary” odors.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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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