# identity

Pronunciation: say "y-DEN-ti-tee" US /aɪˈdɛn(t)ɪti/, UK /aɪˈdɛntɪti/; AUS say "y-DEN-tuh-tee" /ɑɪˈdentəti/

## Noun

1. The character or sense of self that sets a person or group apart from others and lets them be recognized over time.
   - Simple: Who a person or group is: the qualities and sense of self that make them different from others.
   - _Adolescence is often when a person's identity begins to take shape._
   - _The festival celebrates the cultural identity of the region's indigenous communities._
2. Which particular person or thing someone or something is, as shown by details such as a name that prove it.
   - Simple: Who someone is or what something is, shown by facts such as a name.
   - _Officials will not release the victim's identity until her family has been notified._
   - _Thieves used his stolen identity to open several credit card accounts._
3. A name or persona (a mask or public face) that one presents to the world and is known by.
   - Simple: A name or made-up character that someone uses so other people know them in a certain way.
   - _The author wrote under a secret identity for years before revealing her real name._
   - _Witnesses are sometimes given a new identity to keep them safe._
5. The quality or fact of two or more things being the same; sameness.
   - Simple: The state of two or more things being exactly the same.
   - _Members of the two unions felt a strong identity of interests, since both groups faced the same cuts to pay and benefits._
   - _Philosophers debate the identity of an object that gradually replaces all its parts._
6. An equation that holds true for every possible value of its variables.
   - Simple: In math, an equation that stays true no matter what numbers you put in.
   - _The Pythagorean identity relates the sine and cosine of any angle._
   - _Proving the equation is an identity means showing it holds for all inputs._
4. An element of an algebraic structure that leaves any element unchanged when combined with it under the structure's operation.
   - Simple: In math, a special element that leaves another element unchanged when you combine the two.
   - _In any group, the identity combines with each member to give back that same member._
   - _The number one serves as the multiplicative identity in ordinary arithmetic._
7. A function that maps every element of its domain to itself, returning each input unchanged.
   - Simple: In math, a function that returns each value exactly as it was given.
   - _Composing any function with the identity leaves that function unchanged._
   - _The identity maps each point of the plane onto itself._
8. A famous or well-known person, especially one many people can recognize. *(Australia, New Zealand)*
   - Simple: A person who is famous or well known to many people.
   - _The retired coach remained a beloved identity in the community for decades._
   - _Several sporting identities attended the charity dinner._

## Origin

From Middle French "identité", which came from Latin "identitas".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/identity (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).