identical

adjective iden·ti·cal \ ī-ˈden-ti-kəl , ə- \

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

Definition of identical

1 : being the same : selfsame

the identical place we stopped before

2 : having such close resemblance as to be essentially the same

identical hats

—often used with to or with

3 a : having the same cause or origin

identical infections

b : monozygotic

—

identically

play \ī-ˈden-ti-k(ə-)lē, ə-\ adverb

—

identicalness

play \ī-ˈden-ti-kəl-nəs, ə-\ noun

See identical defined for English-language learners

See identical defined for kids

Examples of identical in a Sentence

We visited the identical place we stopped at last year.
They were wearing identical coats.
The boxes were identical in shape.
They drove virtually identical cars.
The results were identical to those of the first test.

Recent Examples of identical from the Web

Strake Jesuit meets a North Shore team with an identical postseason scoring margin.

— jack marrion, Houston Chronicle, "Strake Jesuit strikes late, advances to semifinals," 8 Apr. 2018
It should be noted that Bovada gave the Warriors and Rockets identical 6-to-5 odds last week, but one would imagine that if Golden State enters a potential series without any huge injury woes, the betting would tip in its favor.

— jim lefko, San Antonio Express-News, "Writers’ roundtable: Who has been Spurs most pleasant surprise?," 6 Apr. 2018
For starters, the government helped her family buy a house, a tiny, shiny-white box of a place in a new development of identical two-bedroom rowhouses on the outskirts of Toluca.

— kevin sullivan, chicagotribune.com, "For an American teen whose parents were deported to Mexico, an agonizing choice," 6 Apr. 2018
Modern payment systems involve complex, multiple, interlinked data sets, and the development of new software to handle these requires tests on data identical in form to those of the live data on which the software will eventually operate.

— The Economist, "Pseudonymisation is helping firms comply with a new EU privacy law," 5 Apr. 2018
With 17 goals and 10 assists, attackman Christian Daniel is the first freshman to reach the 15-10 mark since attackmen Sam Jones and Tucker Hull finished the 2011 season with identical totals of 23 goals and 15 assists.

— edward lee, baltimoresun.com, "The week ahead for state men's lacrosse teams (April 5)," 5 Apr. 2018
The gravitational force on the two humans (assuming equal mass) would be identical at both locations but the force from the scale would be greater at the North Pole.

— rhett allain, WIRED, "Do You Weigh More at the Equator or at the North Pole?," 5 Apr. 2018
Stitched together by the website Deadspin, anchors at Sinclair stations across the country were seen in promos eerily reciting identical scripts with phrases often used by the president when criticizing mainstream news organizations.

— stephen battaglio, latimes.com, "Backlash grows over Sinclair Broadcast Group's 'must-run' conservative content on local TV stations," 5 Apr. 2018
Teams with identical records have ties broken for playoff seeding, but those tiebreakers don't apply to draft.

— matt velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Bucks playoff scenarios and how to keep their first-round draft pick," 5 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'identical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of identical

probably from Medieval Latin identicus, from Late Latin identitas

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1581

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

identical Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of identical

same, selfsame, very, identical, equivalent, equal mean not different or not differing from one another. same may imply and selfsame always implies that the things under consideration are one thing and not two or more things.

- took the same route
- derived from the selfsame source

very, like selfsame, may imply identity, or, like same may imply likeness in kind.

- the very point I was trying to make

identical may imply selfsameness or suggest absolute agreement in all details.

- identical results

equivalent implies amounting to the same thing in worth or significance.

- two houses equivalent in market value

equal implies being identical in value, magnitude, or some specified quality.

- equal shares in the business

IDENTICAL Defined for English Language Learners

identical

adjective

Definition of identical for English Language Learners

: exactly the same
: exactly alike or equal

IDENTICAL Defined for Kids

identical

adjective iden·ti·cal \ ī-ˈden-ti-kəl \

Definition of identical for Students

1 : being one and the same

We saw the identical movie last week.

2 : being exactly alike or equal

They wore identical dresses.

—

identically

\-kə-lē\ adverb

Medical Dictionary

identical

adjective iden·ti·cal \ ī-ˈdent-i-kəl, ə- \

medical Definition of identical

: monozygotic

identical twins

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identically

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Origin and Etymology of identical

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identical

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