Meaning & use
identifiable
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Able to be recognized or named as a particular person, thing or type.
Grammar: Goes before a noun or after be: an identifiable voice, the suspect was identifiable.
Patterns
- identifiable as something
- easily identifiable
The bird is easily identifiable by its bright red cap.
Every sample was clearly labeled and identifiable.
Her voice is instantly identifiable even over a bad phone line.
adjectivebefore a nounformal
Possible to point out or find as a distinct cause, group or individual, especially in research and data.
Grammar: Often modifies abstract nouns: no identifiable cause, identifiable individuals.
Patterns
- an identifiable cause
- identifiable individuals
Doctors could not find any identifiable cause for the fever.
The survey must not include data about identifiable individuals.
There is no single identifiable reason for the decline.
Common combinations
- easily identifiable
- The uniforms make the staff easily identifiable.
- personally identifiable information
- The form collects personally identifiable information.
- clearly identifiable
- The mark is clearly identifiable under a microscope.
- identifiable cause
- There was no identifiable cause for the power failure.
- identifiable as
- The painting is identifiable as a work from the 1600s.
Synonyms and how they differ
- recognizable
- Recognizable focuses on being known again from before, whereas identifiable is about being named or pinpointed, even if met for the first time.
- distinguishable
- Distinguishable stresses being told apart from similar things, while identifiable stresses being named as a particular thing.
- traceable
- Traceable means the origin or path can be followed, which is narrower than being recognizable.
- discernible
- Discernible is more formal and describes something that can just barely be seen or perceived.
Opposites
Word family
- identify verb
- to recognize or name something or someone
- identification noun
- the act of identifying, or a document that proves who you are
- identifier noun
- a name or code that marks something as unique
- identifiably adverb
- in a way that can be recognized
Commonly confused: identifiable or identical?
identifiable vs identical
Identical means exactly the same as another thing. Identifiable means able to be recognized or named.
Practice
The detective found no ___ fingerprints on the glass because it had been wiped clean.
Choose one answer.
Identifiable means able to be recognized, which fits fingerprints that could be matched to someone. Identical means exactly alike and does not fit this sentence.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “identifiable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.