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unidentified

adjective
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un·​iden·​ti·​fied | \ ˌən-ī-ˈden-tə-ˌfīd How to pronounce unidentified (audio) , -ə-ˈden- \

Definition of unidentified

: not having a known or established identity : not identified unidentified flying objects an unidentified suspect
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Examples of unidentified in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Police say the woman, who is unidentified, remained at the scene and didn't show signs of impairment. — Perry Vandell, azcentral, "Phoenix police: Woman accidentally runs over man she was trying to help," 30 Jan. 2020 Related Scientists believe the pneumonia is caused by a previously unidentified coronavirus, one of a class of pathogens that can cause illness in the respiratory tract. — Chao Deng, WSJ, "China Reports New Cases of Wuhan Virus as Hectic Travel Period Nears," 19 Jan. 2020 Since May 2019, the Grundy County Coroner’s Office has been working closely with the DNA Doe Project, an organization that utilizes genetic genealogy to assist in identifying the unidentified. — Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, "Unidentified woman found murdered in Illinois 1976 had family in Alabama, new information shows," 13 Jan. 2020 Interrogation’ A new wrinkle in true crime: nine episodes based on interrogations in an actual (so far unidentified) murder case can be watched in any order before the Episode 10 finale. — Mike Hale, New York Times, "The 50 TV Shows You Need to Watch This Winter," 2 Jan. 2020 The report found there were 94 complaints filed between 2016 and 2018 — and that three officers, unidentified in the report, were involved in 27 of them. — Christian Sheckler, ProPublica, "A New Study Prompted by Our Reporting Confirms Elkhart, Indiana, Police Department Lacks Accountability," 12 Dec. 2019 Since the start of December there have been 12 fish kill reports on the west; most of the species were unidentified, but at least two were sharks. — Joe Mario Pedersen, orlandosentinel.com, "After 2 months of red tide scare, cold temperatures have abated the spread on Florida’s west coast," 12 Dec. 2019 More blue-ring fatalities may go unidentified, however, because the bites are painless and the mode of death—respiratory paralysis—can be caused by other toxins and nerve, muscle, and lung conditions. — Eric Scigliano, National Geographic, "Is it wrong to keep octopuses in captivity?," 15 Oct. 2019 Remains of two Native women discovered on the reservation in early 1988 and late 2008 are still unidentified. — Tammy Ayer, The Seattle Times, "‘We have so many missing people’: Coroner tests remains found on Yakima River island as families wait, hope," 7 Aug. 2019

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

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First Known Use of unidentified

1861, in the meaning defined above

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Time Traveler for unidentified

Time Traveler

The first known use of unidentified was in 1861

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Statistics for unidentified

Last Updated

16 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Unidentified.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unidentified. Accessed 26 Feb. 2020.

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More Definitions for unidentified

unidentified

adjective
How to pronounce unidentified (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of unidentified

: not known or identified

See the full definition for unidentified in the English Language Learners Dictionary

unidentified

adjective
un·​iden·​ti·​fied | \ ˌən-ī-ˈden-tə-ˌfīd \

Kids Definition of unidentified

: having an identity that is not known or determined an unidentified person

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More from Merriam-Webster on unidentified

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for unidentified

Spanish Central: Translation of unidentified

Nglish: Translation of unidentified for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of unidentified for Arabic Speakers

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