- the act of identifying or the state of being identified
- something that identifies a person or thing
- (as modifier): an identification card
- the process of recognizing specific objects as the result of remembering
- the process by which one incorporates aspects of another person's personality
See also empathy
- the transferring of a response from one situation to another because the two bear similar features
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
i•den•ti•fi•ca•tion /aɪˌdɛntəfɪˈkeɪʃən, ɪˌdɛn-/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- an act or instance of identifying;
the state of being identified:Positive identification of the accident victim was impossible. - something, as a birth certificate or driver's license, that identifies a person.
- Psychologya process by which one person comes to believe he or she has the qualities of another:the audience's identification with the main character.
i•den•ti•fi•ca•tion
(ī den′tə fi kā′shən, i den′-),USA pronunciation n.
- an act or instance of identifying;
the state of being identified. - something that identifies a person, animal, or thing:He carries identification with him at all times.
- Sociologyacceptance as one's own of the values and interests of a social group.
- Psychology
- a process by which one ascribes to oneself the qualities or characteristics of another person.
- (in psychoanalytic theory) the transference or reaction to one person with the feelings or responses relevant to another, as the identification of a teacher with a parent.
- perception of another as an extension of oneself.
- identi(fy) + -fication 1635–45
- 1. . association, connection, affiliation.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
identification /aɪˌdɛntɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/ n
'identification papers' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):