INDEX:
1. to recognize someone or something
2. easy to recognize
3. difficult to recognize
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ KNOW/NOT KNOW
↑ NOTICE/NOT NOTICE
↑ REALIZE
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1. to recognize someone or something
▷ recognize also recognise British /ˈrekəgnaɪz, ˈrekən-/ [transitive verb not in progressive]
to know who someone is or what something is, especially because you have seen them before :
▪ Lisa! I’m sorry -- I didn’t recognize you -- you’ve had your hair cut!
▪ I can’t remember how the tune goes but I’ll recognize it when I hear it.
▪ That security guy never recognizes me. I always have to show him my ID.
▪ They recognised my Michigan accent right away.
recognize somebody from something
▪ I recognized her from the movies, but she was much taller than I expected.
▪ I recognize you from somewhere -- don’t you work at the bank?
recognize somebody/something as something
▪ The waiter recognized one of his customers as someone he went to school with.
▪ She recognised the voice on the phone as Tim’s, but he sounded strange.
recognition /ˌrekəgˈnɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
▪ There was no look of recognition on her face. She obviously had no idea who I was.
▪ He waved, and she smiled in recognition.
▷ know /nəʊ/ [transitive verb not in progressive]
to recognize someone or something, especially when you have not seen them for some time or when they have changed a lot :
▪ Would you know him if you saw him again?
▪ The town has changed so much you wouldn’t know the place.
▪ You’ll know him when you see him. He has red curly hair and is very tall and thin.
▷ identify /aɪˈdentɪfaɪ, aɪˈdentəfaɪ/ [transitive verb]
to recognize and name someone who has done something illegal or someone who has died :
▪ The airline says it will be difficult to identify all the bodies retrieved from the crash.
▪ Police hope that a member of the public will be able to identify a man seen acting suspiciously a few hours before the murder took place.
▪ Dubois was identified by immigration control, and arrested at Kennedy airport.
▪ proposals to identify the fathers of children born to single mothers
identify somebody as something
▪ Sara identified the man as Kang, a notorious gang leader and drug baron.
▪ The girl, identified as Shelly Barnes, fell from the window when her mother’s back was turned.
identification /aɪˌdentɪfəˈkeɪʃ ə n, aɪˌdentəfəˈkeɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
▪ Dental records are a very reliable aid in the identification of badly burned bodies.
▪ The case against Kelly hinged on Mr Gardener’s identification of him.
▷ pick out /ˌpɪk ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to recognize someone or something out of a group of things or people :
pick out somebody/something
▪ Both men were picked out from an identity parade by witnesses.
▪ It was hard to pick out faces he knew in the crowd.
▪ Are there any questions that can help pick out a drug addict?
pick somebody/something out
▪ I was listening for Steve’s voice, but it wasn’t easy to pick it out among all the others.
▷ tell /tel/ [intransitive/transitive verb not in progressive]
to be able to recognize someone or something, especially when this is not easy :
▪ ‘What colour was the car?’ ‘I couldn’t tell in the dark.’
tell (that)
▪ You look different in the photograph, although I can tell it’s you.
tell who/what etc
▪ There’s someone on the phone for you. I can’t tell who it is.
▪ ‘Can you tell what this is with your eyes shut?’ ‘It tastes of strawberry, but I’m not sure.’
tell the difference between somebody/something
▪ I find it really difficult to tell the difference between Frank and his brother.
▪ If we don’t use labelling, how can consumers tell the difference between organic and non-organic foods?
tell something from something else
to be able to recognize the difference between them
▪ It’s a very good fake. You couldn’t tell it from the real thing.
▪ My kids have plenty of friends, and to be honest I can’t tell one from another.
tell two things apart
to be able to recognize that they are different in some way
▪ Male ducks are easy to tell apart in the breeding season.
▪ At the moment, we can only tell the twins apart by looking at their name tags.
2. easy to recognize
▷ familiar /fəˈmɪliəʳ/ [adjective]
someone or something that is familiar is easy to recognize, because you have seen or heard them many times before :
▪ Gibson’s name is familiar -- what else did he write?
▪ He scanned the audience, searching for a familiar face.
▪ Mimicking the President’s familiar accent, DJ Rogers told his listeners that aliens had invaded.
familiar to
▪ The first track on the album will be instantly familiar to Billie Holliday fans.
▪ The giant cross has become a familiar landmark to generations of San Franciscans.
look/sound/feel etc familiar
▪ That girl looks familiar. I’m sure I’ve met her before.
a familiar figure
someone who is often seen in a particular place and therefore is familiar to the people there
▪ Kylie soon became a familiar figure at some of London’s top fashion stores.
a familiar face
someone you have met before
▪ It’s nice to see a familiar face - I was afraid I wouldn’t know anyone here.
▪ The local policeman is now a familiar figure in our school.
faintly/vaguely familiar
only slightly familiar, so that you are not quite sure whether you know them or not
▪ The man seated at the next table looked faintly familiar.
▪ She was singing along to a tune on the radio that sounded vaguely familiar.
▷ recognizable also recognisable British /ˈrekəgnaɪzəb ə l/ [adjective]
if something is recognizable, it is easy to recognize, for example because it has a particular sound or appearance :
▪ No recognizable remains of Minoan ships have ever been found until now.
▪ Many mental illnesses are only recognizable after many careful weeks spent talking to the patient.
▪ Muffled noises were coming from the room, the only recognizable sound being her daughter’s laughter.
recognizable as
▪ an animal so thin and weak it was barely recognizable as a horse
▪ The body was so badly burned it was no longer recognizable as a human being.
recognizable by
▪ The staff are easily recognisable by their pale green uniforms.
easily/instantly/immediately recognizable
▪ Macy has an instantly recognizable voice.
▪ On the outskirts of the town, we saw a building that was immediately recognizable as a prison.
▷ unmistakable /ˌʌnmɪˈsteɪkəb ə l, ˌʌnməˈsteɪkəb ə l/ [adjective]
impossible not to recognize :
▪ Shots rang out, and we heard the unmistakable sound of a human scream.
▪ When an envelope arrived bearing Dad’s unmistakable handwriting, I knew something must be wrong.
▪ Her accent was unmistakable -- Southern Ireland, probably West coast.
▪ He’d started burning incense to disguise the unmistakable odour of marijuana coming from his bedroom.
▷ there’s no mistaking somebody/something /ðeəʳz ˌnəʊ mɪˈsteɪkɪŋ somebody/something/ [verb phrase] spoken
use this to say that someone or something is easy to recognize :
▪ I turned round -- there was no mistaking that voice -- it was Billie.
▪ There’s no mistaking this as anything but a Japanese car.
3. difficult to recognize
▷ strange /streɪndʒ/ [adjective only before noun]
a strange person, voice, smell etc one that is not recognizable because it is different from other, similar things that you know already :
▪ I could hear strange voices outside the room.
▪ It was hard for her, going to live in a strange city where she knew no-one.
▪ Mum, come quick! There’s a strange man coming up the path.
▪ Can you check out that strange noise outside?
▷ unrecognizable also unrecognisable British /ʌnˈrekəgnaɪzəb ə l/ [adjective not before noun]
difficult or impossible to recognize :
▪ We’ve recovered two bodies from the wreckage, but they are unrecognizable.
▪ The explosion left nothing but small, unrecognizable pieces of the aircraft scattered over the field.
unrecognizable to
▪ Completely shaved and wearing prison clothes, the two sisters were unrecognizable to each other.
▷ unfamiliar /ˌʌnfəˈmɪliəʳ◂/ [adjective]
something that is unfamiliar is not recognizable because you have never seen it, heard it, done it etc before :
▪ She spoke with an unfamiliar accent.
▪ She noticed an unfamiliar truck parked across the street.
unfamiliar to
▪ His name may be unfamiliar to Western audiences.
▷ beyond recognition also out of all recognition /bɪˌjɒnd rekəgˈnɪʃ ə nǁ-ˌjɑːnd-, aʊt əv ˌɔːl rekəgˈnɪʃ ə n/ [adverb]
if something has changed beyond recognition or out of all recognition, it has changed completely -- use this to emphasize that it is completely different now :
▪ The business has changed beyond recognition since Cyril took over from his father.
▪ The Internet has altered our understanding of the world beyond all recognition.
▪ Susan’s playing has improved out of all recognition.