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 empathythe 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.See corresponding entry in Unabridged . association, connection, affiliation.
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