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Meaning & use

identity

noun·Academic

Last updated

UK/aɪˈden.tə.ti/
US/aɪˈden.tə.ti/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable or uncountable

    The qualities, beliefs, and background that make a person or group who they are.

    Grammar: Use the plural for distinct identities within a group.

    Patterns

    • sense of identity
    • cultural identity
    • personal identity

    Language is an important part of her identity.

    The city has several distinct identities.

  2. noununcountable

    Official proof or confirmation of who someone is.

    Grammar: Often with proof of or documents; countable in phrases like identity card.

    Patterns

    • proof of identity
    • identity documents
    • verify someone's identity

    Show proof of identity before collecting the package.

    The bank uses two steps to verify your identity.

  3. nouncountabletechnicalmathematics

    In mathematics, an equation true for every allowed value of its variables.

    Grammar: Technical school sense; plural is common: trigonometric identities.

    Patterns

    • trigonometric identity
    • prove an identity
    • identity matrix

    Students learned the identity sin²x + cos²x = 1.

    The identity holds for all real numbers.

Word forms

pluralidentities

Common combinations

sense of identity
The move gave him a stronger sense of identity.
national identity
Food plays a role in the country's national identity.
identity theft
She reported the identity theft to the police.
identity card
Carry your identity card when traveling.
prove your identity
The clerk asked him to prove his identity.
identity crisis
After graduation, he went through a mild identity crisis.

Synonyms and how they differ

selfhood
Selfhood is abstract and literary; identity is everyday and can be legal too.
personality
Personality is outward character; identity includes deeper and social belonging.
individuality
Individuality stresses what makes one person different from others.
identification
Identification can mean proof or the process of naming; identity is the state of being oneself.

Opposites

anonymity

Word family

identify verb
to recognize or prove who or what something is
identification noun
proof of identity, or the act of identifying
identifiable adjective
able to be recognized or named

Commonly confused: identity or identification?

identity vs identification

Identity is who you are; identification is often the document or process that proves it.

Practice

Which sentence uses *identity* in the mathematics sense?

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