as in distinguishing
serving to identify as belonging to an individual or group
the marching band's striking black-and-silver uniforms serve as its identifying mark for thousands of parade spectators
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in pinpointing
to find out or establish the identity of
sufficient forensic evidence to allow investigators to identify the perpetrator
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in associating
to think of (something) in combination
for some reason, he always identified the color red with flowers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of identifying
Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2025
Another intriguing possibility is to wait until the wireless world’s progress to ever-shorter wavelengths finally hits the millimeter band, which is small enough to resolve most identifying details.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 Jan. 2020
Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 8 Jan. 2026
Last April, the Wyn Beauty founder shared a sweet video on her Instagram with her daughter Adira, as the little one practiced identifying colors.
—Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
All of that makes identifying his DNA extremely difficult, if not impossible, says David Caramelli, an anthropologist and ancient DNA specialist at the University of Florence in Italy, who is a member of the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project but was not involved in the new study.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 7 Jan. 2026
Notably, the device takes the guesswork out of identifying common triggers like nuts, gluten, and dairy.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 6 Jan. 2026
Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg is also looking into the issue, initially identifying nearly 1,000 potentially improper PPP loans involving city employees.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
Alabama has heard the rumors of Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables and his staff being good at identifying signs that opposing offenses use.
—Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
The discovery helped open the door to more recent developments such as tinkering with the genetic makeup of living things, treating disease by inserting genes into patients, identifying human remains and criminal suspects from DNA samples, and tracing family trees and ancient human ancestors.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 9 Nov. 2025
Caroline Hirsch, founder and former owner of the New York comedy club Carolines on Broadway, is known for an innate knack for identifying the next big thing in comedy… and Gaffigan was one of those comedians.
—Rosemary Rossi, Variety, 9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
There are also passports from Lithuania, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Russia, with most identifying information blacked out.
—Verb
Officers were reportedly reviewing security camera footage in the area in hopes of identifying a suspect.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for identifying
Verb
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To that point, Lee stressed the importance of city names preceding a team name as a distinguishing factor.—
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Presidents learn quickly the wisdom of distinguishing between an authoritarian regime and the people who suffer under its rule.—
Verb
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Additionally, the dolphins may also be associating with non-dolphin-eating orcas to learn to distinguish their sounds from those of the threatening mammal-eating killer whales.—
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Hellfire Club Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) is the only one still associating himself with the Hellfire Club at Hawkins High School, because the rest of the student body still thinks Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) is responsible for killing Vecna’s victims last season.—
Adjective
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While achieving a rugged look, the fiber retains the signature softness and high moisture-regulating properties characteristic of TENCEL™ Lyocell, enhancing wearer comfort.—
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And a floral, almost roselike aroma, considered characteristic of wines from cooler regions, was recently discovered to be caused by the inclusion of dead leaves in the ferment.—
Verb
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Aquaria, season 10 winner, echoes Velour’s thoughts, pinpointing a change in runway standards around 2017-2018.—
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Now, astronomers have for the first time confirmed the existence of one of these starless worlds by pinpointing its distance and mass — a rogue planet roughly the size of Saturn nearly 10,000 light-years from Earth.—
Verb
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Suicides, for insance, are statistically rare, so correlating them with other trends is notoriously difficult.—
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Since the drugs have come on the market, declines in obesity rates have been higher among those between ages 40 and 64, correlating with a higher reliance on GLP-1 medications for that age group.—
Adjective
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But none of these enticements can conceal the absence of scripts and direction that set a distinctive mood, then deftly navigate every deliberate shift.—
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Faithfull’s signature, distinctive, melodic, high-register vocals had defined her career, but her voice was permanently altered by severe laryngitis and her persistent drug abuse.—
Verb
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The series chronicles three New Yorkers who come together over their love of true crime podcasts and end up finding themselves at the center of more than a few true crimes.—
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At least in the interim, Duke deserves credit for finding ways to win despite some of its defensive deficiencies.—
Verb
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The neighborhood/area The hotel has a plum position on the Eendrachtsplein, a buzzy town square in the heart of the city with trams, buses, and a metro line connecting it to all corners of town.—
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The film stars Sally Field as a widow who bonds with a giant Pacific octopus, while also connecting with a young man (Lewis Pullman) in need of direction.—
Cite this Entry
“Identifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/identifying. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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