identification
/ʌɪˌdɛntɪfɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n
/noun
1 [mass noun] The action or process of identifying someone or something or the fact of being identified: each child was tagged with a number for identification [count noun]: it may be impossible for relatives to make positive identifications...
- In fact no positive identification of him is ever made.
- The first step in the risk management process is risk identification.
- Well, the whole process of identification actually takes place a few steps before DNA testing.
Synonyms
recognition, singling out, picking out, spotting, pointing out, pinpointing, naming, placing;
discerning, distinguishing, discovery, finding, location
North American informal fingering
1.1A means of proving a person’s identity, especially in the form of official papers: do you have any identification?...
- A 72-year-old woman in Chiswick answered the door to a bogus water board official with bogus identification.
- All collectors will carry appropriate identification and official receipts will be provided.
- Verify that the phone number on his vehicle matches the one you dialled and that the driver has official identification.
Synonyms
ID, papers, identity papers, identification papers, bona fides, documents, credentials;
ID card, identity card, pass, badge, warrant, licence, permit, passport, proof of identity;
proof of qualifications, certificate, diploma, references, testimonial, letter of introduction, letter of recommendation
2A person’s sense of identity with someone or something: children’s identification with story characters...
- Possibly this would add a sense of discomfort, and possibly an identification with imprisonment.
- From the folk culture, adolescents receive a world view and an identification with a unique cultural system.
- Their lifelong identification with the working class was forged during these years.
Synonyms
empathy, rapport, fellow feeling, togetherness, unity, bond of sympathy, sympathetic cord, sympathy, understanding
informal good vibes
3The association or linking of one thing with another: the growing identification of anti-slavery with political liberalism...
- The identification of order with law eliminates from public consciousness the very concept of the decentralized provision of order.
- There is a tendency to associate case studies with qualitative research, but such an identification is not appropriate.
- It also facilitated the identification of the church and of various church associations with the National Revolution.
Synonyms
association, link, linkage, connection, tie, bracketing, relatedness, interrelation, interconnection, interdependence
Origin
Mid 17th century: originally from medieval Latin identificat- 'identified', from the verb identificare; later from identify.