identifying
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i·den·ti·fy
(ī-dĕn′tə-fī′)v. i·den·ti·fied, i·den·ti·fy·ing, i·den·ti·fies
v. tr.
1.
a. To establish or recognize the identity of; ascertain as a certain person or thing: Can you identify what kind of plane that is? I identified the man at the next table as a famous actor.
b. Biology To determine the taxonomic classification of (an organism).
c. To ascertain as having a certain characteristic or feature: job candidates who are identified as overqualified; children who have been identified with hearing loss.
2. To consider as identical or united; equate: The Greek god Ares is identified with the Roman god Mars.
3. To associate or affiliate closely with: writers who are identified with modernism.
v. intr.
1. To consider oneself as sharing certain characteristics or attitudes as another: She identifies strongly with her grandmother.
2. To associate oneself with or admire something, such as a set of ideas: a language learner who identifies with a new culture.
3. To believe or assert that one belongs to a certain group or class: She identifies as a libertarian. He identifies as bisexual.
[Medieval Latin identificāre, to make to resemble : Late Latin identitās, identity; see identity + Latin -ficāre, -fy.]
i·den′ti·fi′a·ble adj.
i·den′ti·fi′a·bly adv.
i·den′ti·fi′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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