unidentifiable

IPA/ˌʌnaɪˈdentɪfaɪəbl/
IPA/ˌʌnaɪˈdentɪfaɪəbl/

unidentifiable — adjective

  • unidentifiablepositive
  • more unidentifiablecomparative
  • most unidentifiablesuperlative

1. Used when the clues are too weak for anyone to tell who or what a person or thin

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

Used when the clues are too weak for anyone to tell who or what a person or thing is.

Example

After the fire, the family photo was almost unidentifiable.

collocation: almost unidentifiable

Mud left Mert's white shoes unidentifiable by the end of camp.

pattern: leave + object + unidentifiable

Common collocations
  • almost unidentifiable
  • remain unidentifiable
  • leave something unidentifiable
  • make someone unidentifiable
  • unidentifiable body
  • unidentifiable voice
  • unidentifiable shape
  • unidentifiable in the photo
Synonyms
  • unrecognizable

    more common in everyday speech and often stresses a big change in appearance

  • unidentified

    common in police or news language for someone whose name is still unknown

  • anonymous

    used mainly when a person's identity is deliberately hidden, not for damaged objects

Antonyms
  • identifiable

    able to be recognized from the available clues

  • recognizable

    easy enough to know from appearance, sound, or other features

  • distinctive

    having special features that make recognition easier

Grammar Patterns

be + unidentifiable

make + someone/something + unidentifiable

leave + someone/something + unidentifiable

Usage Note

Common when damage, distance, darkness, or disguise removes the usual clues. It often appears with nouns such as body, voice, face, photo, or shape.

Common Mistakes

The police were unidentifiable the driver from the video.
The police were unable to identify the driver from the video.
use 'unable to identify' for the people doing the action; 'unidentifiable' describes the person or thing that cannot be recognized.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Unidentifiable' focuses on a failure to know exactly who or what something is because the normal clues are hidden, damaged, or too weak. 'Unrecognizable' is more common in everyday speech and usually stresses a strong change in appearance, as when a face or photo has changed so much that people cannot know it. 'Unidentified' is often used in police or news reporting for a person, object, or aircraft whose name or origin is still unknown. 'Indistinguishable' is different because two or more things are so similar that you cannot tell them apart. 'Anonymous' usually means a person is intentionally unnamed. A masked witness may be unidentifiable, an old friend after surgery may be unrecognizable, and two twins in matching coats may be indistinguishable.

unrecognizable ↗unidentified ↗indistinguishable ↗anonymous ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • be unidentifiable
  • remain unidentifiable
  • make someone unidentifiable
  • leave something unidentifiable

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

This adjective was built in English from the negative prefix 'un-', the verb 'identify', and the suffix '-able'. The core idea goes back to the Latin root behind 'identity', which is about sameness. In modern English, 'unidentifiable' is used when the marks that would normally let you know who or what something is have been hidden, damaged, or lost.

First known use

1909

1909, in the meaning defined above