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Glite Dictionary
true identity

true identity

20 4.9
A person's real self, not the face they show others
  • noun
translation icon : verdadera identidad
  • His true identity was finally revealed after years of living in disguise.
  • hide his true identity
  • find one's true identity

Or hide your true wants and hide your true identity and still keep trying to please them.

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Examples

  • Many people hide their true identity to protect themselves from judgment.

  • The detective worked hard to uncover the true identity of the suspect.

  • This is where you will find proof of your true identity.

    Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

  • You want to know my true identity?

    Love N Success (2015)

  • The only people who know his true identity are the other patients.

    Blog text (9)

  • However, his true identity remains a mystery.

    Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

  • So now I am going to reveal my true identity.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Only one of the mission directors has ever come close... to discovering my true identity.

    Gattaca (1997)

  • Well, perhaps if your father had told us your true identity, you wouldn't have had this problem in the first place.

    The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption (2012)

  • Luckily, I was able to discover the true identity of the troll and put a stop to the mess.

    Blog text (15)

Synonyms

identity
vstrue identity
660 3.2

The qualities that show who a person or group is

points to the real authentic inner nature rather than general unique characteristics
personal identity
vstrue identity
3 4.2

The set of things that make a person different and stay the same over time

focuses on the genuine inner nature of a person rather than stable outer traits

Antonyms

false name
9 3.9

A made-up name someone uses to hide who they are

superficiality
4 7.8

Lack of deep thought or careful attention

How Genuine

true identity
20 4.9
self
∞ 3.9
persona
  • Specialized
61 6.7
surface
209 3.5
false name
9 3.9

Surface Forms

true identity singular
true identities plural

Morphology

true + identity

The phrase 'true identity' is directly compositional: 'true' (genuine) modifies 'identity' (a person's defining characteristics), so the meaning 'genuine self' follows straightforwardly from the constituents. This adjective+noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and would be inferable by a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

The phrase true identity creates a simple picture: imagine someone taking off a mask to show who they really are. True means real and identity means who you are, so the phrase means 'a person's real self'.