Identity is <em>who or what something is</em> — the set of characteristics that make it itself: <em>The victim's identity has not been released.</em> Identification is either the <em>act</em> of working out who or what something is, or the <em>documents</em> that prove it: <em>Please bring photo identification.</em> You produce identification in order to establish your identity.
The core difference
Identity is the thing itself. Identification is the process of establishing it, or the evidence used to do so. Put them in a single sentence and the relationship is obvious: He showed identification confirming his identity.
How to use each
Identity — who someone is, or what defines a group or brand:
- She kept her identity secret for years.
- Identity theft rose sharply last year.
- The rebrand gave the charity a clearer visual identity.
- Language is central to national identity here.
Identification — the act, or the proof:
- Identification of the species took a fortnight.
- Early identification of the fault saved the engine.
- You'll need two forms of identification to open the account.
A test you can run
Substitute who someone is and the process of finding out / the proof:
- "The police have not confirmed who he is" → identity.
- "The process of naming the fault took hours" → identification.
Another quick check: if you could replace the word with ID and the sentence still works, you want identification. Bring ID = bring identification. You cannot say "bring identity".
The memory trick
Words ending in -ation usually name an action: examination, investigation, identification. If a process is happening, you want the longer word.
The third sense: identification with
There is a further meaning worth knowing — feeling a close connection with someone: Her identification with the main character was total. This use always takes with, and cannot be replaced by identity.
The common mistakes
The frequent slip is writing "proof of identification" when the natural phrase is proof of identity — the document proves who you are, so identity is what is being proved. Both phrases circulate, but proof of identity is the more precise.
Conversely, avoid "show me your identity" when you mean the documents. That is identification, or informally ID.
Note also the collocations that only take one word: identity card, identity theft, mistaken identity, identity crisis, brand identity — all identity. Identification number, identification badge, positive identification — all identification, though ID number and ID badge are commoner in practice.
Finally, in mathematics and logic identity has a technical sense (an equation true for all values, such as an identity element), which has nothing to do with either everyday meaning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it "proof of identity" or "proof of identification"?
<em>Proof of identity</em> is the more precise phrase — the document proves who you are. Banks and government forms use both, so neither will be misunderstood.
What does ID stand for?
It abbreviates <em>identification</em>, and in everyday speech it means the document: <em>Do you have ID?</em> It is written without full stops in modern usage, and pluralises as <em>IDs</em>.
Can a company have an identity?
Yes — <em>brand identity</em> or <em>corporate identity</em> means the characteristics, look and values that make an organisation recognisable. Identification would be wrong there.