identification

[ahy-den-tuh-fi-key-shuh n, ih-den-] /aɪˌdɛn tə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən, ɪˌdɛn-/
noun
1.
an act or instance of identifying; the state of being identified.
2.
something that identifies a person, animal, or thing:
He carries identification with him at all times.
3.
Sociology. acceptance as one's own of the values and interests of a social group.
4.
Psychology.
  1. a process by which one ascribes to oneself the qualities or characteristics of another person.
  2. (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.
  3. perception of another as an extension of oneself.
Origin
1635-45; identi(fy) + -fication
Related forms
nonidentification, noun
overidentification, noun
preidentification, noun
reidentification, noun
Synonyms
1. association, connection, affiliation.
Examples from the web for identification
  • These ridges form, in different individuals, distinctive and permanent patterns which can be used for purposes of identification.
  • The first case may be referred to as identification, the second as composition.
  • Now, it is plain that such identification must have been much more perfect in a state of nature than it is in a state of reason.
  • As the military learned, positive identification depends on having a large data set of known insurgents.
  • The home dental plaque identification test identifies plaque, a sticky substance that collects around and between teeth.
  • Responsible for high-end prospective donors and participate in identification of potential leadership and major donors.
  • This, he notes, creates a need for both identification and verification of trust in what is generally an untrustworthy milieu.
  • When students or employees want to use a bike, they will send a text message with the bike's identification number to a server.
  • The newspaper said it was not naming the gunman because the police have not completed their identification of his body.
  • Works with faculty on the identification of revenue-generating strategies across the college.
British Dictionary definitions for identification

identification

/aɪˌdɛntɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
noun
1.
the act of identifying or the state of being identified
2.
  1. something that identifies a person or thing
  2. (as modifier): an identification card
3.
(psychol)
  1. the process of recognizing specific objects as the result of remembering
  2. the process by which one incorporates aspects of another person's personality See also empathy
  3. the transferring of a response from one situation to another because the two bear similar features See also generalization (sense 3)
Word Origin and History for identification
n.

1640s, "treating of a thing as the same as another," from French identification, probably from identifier (see identify). Sense of "becoming or feeling oneself one with another" is from 1857. Sense of "determination of identity" is from 1859. Meaning "object or document which marks identity" is from 1947 (short for identification tag, card, etc.).

identification in Medicine

identification i·den·ti·fi·ca·tion (ī-děn'tə-fĭ-kā'shən)
n.

  1. A person's association with the qualities, characteristics, or views of another person or group.

  2. An unconscious process by which a person transfers the response appropriate to a particular person or group to a different person or group.