overidentify

verb

over·iden·ti·fy ˌō-vər-ī-ˈden-tə-ˌfī

-ə-

overidentified; overidentifying

transitive + intransitive : to engage in excessive or inappropriate psychological identification

a therapist overidentifying with a client

The danger of overidentifying with animals, particularly carnivores, is that it leads people to expect human behavior of them.—

Dana Goodyear

[Russell] Moore worries that conservative Evangelicals have overidentified themselves not just with the particular political salvation tale of the GOP, but with old-school "American family values" as a sign of godliness.—

Ed Kilgore

transitive : to identify (something or someone) excessively and often incorrectly

the brain's tendency to overidentify faces in random shapes

overidentification

ˌō-vər-ī-ˌden-tə-fə-ˈkā-shən

-ə-

noun

Overidentification with the child client can undermine parents … —

Annette Shore

… the overidentification of some students of some backgrounds as having particular disabilities. —

Nirvi Shah

Examples of overidentify in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Some of these dedicated professionals may overidentify with their jobs, increasing the potential for burnout. —

Liz Kislik, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2021