identify and identity differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. identify means “recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something”. identity means “the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity”.
/aɪˈdɛntəˌfaɪ/
1.v.recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something
“She identified the man on the `wanted' poster”
2.v.give the name or identifying characteristics of; refer to by name or some other identifying characteristic property
“Many senators were named in connection with the scandal”
3.v.consider (oneself) as similar to somebody else
“He identified with the refugees”
/aɪˈdɛntɪˌti/
1.n.the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity
“you can lose your identity when you join the army”
2.n.the individual characteristics by which a thing or person is recognized or known
“geneticists only recently discovered the identity of the gene that causes it”
3.n.an operator that leaves unchanged the element on which it operates
“the identity under numerical multiplication is 1”
| identify | identity | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /aɪˈdɛntəˌfaɪ/ | /aɪˈdɛntɪˌti/ |
| Said | ahy-DEN-tuh-fahy | ahy-DEN-ti-tee |
| Syllables | 4 | 4 |
| Letters | 8 | 8 |
| Parts of speech | verb | noun |
| Senses | 6 | 4 |
| How common | Common | Common |
| Synonyms | place | personal identity, individuality |
Full entry for identify · Full entry for identity · More comparisons