Definition of identity Identity

/ajdɛˈntʌti/ - [aydentutee] - i•den•ti•ty

We found 18 definitions of identity from 7 different sources.

What does identity mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: identities
identity - exact sameness; "they shared an identity of interests"
		identicalness, indistinguishability
		sameness the quality of being alike; "sameness of purpose kept them together"
		oneness, unity the quality of being united into one
identity - the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity; "you can lose your identity when you join the army"
		personal identity, individuality
		personality the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual; "their different reactions reflected their very different personalities"; "it is his nature to help others"
		gender identity your identity as it is experienced with regard to your individuality as male or female; awareness normally begin in infancy and is reinforced during adolescence
		identification the attribution to yourself (consciously or unconsciously) of the characteristics of another person (or group of persons)
identity - 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"; "it was too dark to determine his identity"; "she guessed the identity of his lover"
		identification, recognition the attribution to yourself (consciously or unconsciously) of the characteristics of another person (or group of persons)
identity - an operator that leaves unchanged the element on which it operates; "the identity under numerical multiplication is 1"
		identity element, identity operator

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

Wiktionary

identity (Noun)
The sameness some individuals share to make up the same kind or universal.
identity (Noun)
The difference or character that marks off an individual from the rest of the same kind, selfhood.
identity (Noun)
A name or persona—the mask or appearance one presents to the world—by which one is known.
identity (Noun)
Knowledge of who one is.
identity (Noun)
Any function which maps all elements of its domain to themselves.
identity (Noun)
An element of an algebraic structure which, when applied to another element under an operation in that structure, yields this, second element.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

identity (n.)
The state or quality of being identical, or the same; sameness.
identity (n.)
The condition of being the same with something described or asserted, or of possessing a character claimed; as, to establish the identity of stolen goods.
identity (n.)
An identical equation.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

identity
The individual characteristics by which a thing or person is recognized or known.

Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕

identity
ī-den′ti-ti, n. state of being the same: sameness.—adj. Iden′tical, the very same: not different.—adv. Iden′tically.—n. Iden′ticalness, identity. [Fr.,—Low L. identitat-em—L. idem, the same.]

Wikipedia

mathematics
An equality in mathematical sense is only true under more particular conditions. For this, the symbol ≡ is sometimes used. (However, this can lead to misunderstandings since the same symbol can also be used for a congruence relation.)

Identity relation.

A common example of the first meaning is the trigonometric identity

which is true for all real values of formula_5 (since the real numbers formula_6 are the domain of sin and cos), as opposed to

which is true only for values of formula_5 in a subset of the domain.

Identity element.

The concepts of "additive identity" and "multiplicative identity" are central to the Peano axioms.

The number 0 is the "additive identity" for integers, real numbers, and complex numbers. For the real numbers, for all formula_9

Similarly, The number 1 is the "multiplicative identity" for integers, real numbers, and complex numbers. For the real numbers, for all formula_9

Identity function.

A common example of an identity function is the identity permutation, which sends each element of the set formula_17 to itself.

Comparison.

These meanings are not mutually exclusive; for instance, the identity permutation is the identity element in the set of permutations of formula_17 under composition.
philosophy
Identity is an umbrella term used throughout the social sciences to describe an individual's comprehension of him or herself as a discrete, separate entity. This term, though generic, can be further specified by the disciplines of psychology and sociology, including the two forms of social psychology.

Description.

Identity may be contrasted with the notion of "self". In psychology, a "psychological identity" relates to self-image (a person's mental model of him or herself), self-esteem, and individuation. An important part of identity in psychology is gender identity, as this dictates to a significant degree how an individual views him or herself both as a person and in relation to other people. In cognitive psychology, the term "identity" refers to the capacity for self-reflection and the awareness of self..

Sociology places some explanatory weight on the concept of role-behavior. The notion of "identity negotiation" may arise from the learning of social roles through personal experience. Identity negotiation is a process in which a person negotiates with society at large regarding the meaning of his or her identity.

Psychologists most commonly use the term "identity" to describe "personal identity", or the idiosyncratic things that make a person unique. Meanwhile, sociologists often use the term to describe "social identity", or the collection of group memberships that define the individual. However, these uses are not proprietary, and each discipline may use either concept