classify

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈklæs.əˌfaɪ/ UK /ˈklæs.ɪ.faɪ/ See IPA manual

Freq #26912

Meanings

1

verb
To arrange things into groups according to their type or qualities.

Scientists classify animals into different species.
2

verb
To officially decide that information is secret, especially for the government.

The army decided to classify the report.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to arrange things into... categorize sort

More brand cast classcompartmentalisedistribute divide estimate evaluate gauge judge label

Opposites

declassify

Word family

Forms classifiedclassifierclassifiesclassifyingunclassified

Derived forms autoclassifyclassifiabledisclassifyinterclassifymisclassifyoverclassifypreclassifyreclassifysubclassifytransclassifyunclassifyunderclassify

Related forms alphabetize arrange class classification distribute guess index rank

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

classified information
information officially restricted because it must be kept secret

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From French classifier. By surface analysis, class + -ify.

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# classify

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈklæs.əˌfaɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈklæs.ɪ.faɪ/
**Frequency rank:** 26912

## Meanings
1. To arrange things into groups according to their type or qualities.
2. To officially decide that information is secret, especially for the government.

## Examples
- Scientists classify animals into different species.
- The army decided to classify the report.

## Synonyms
- brand
- cast
- categorize
- class
- compartmentalise
- distribute
- divide
- estimate
- evaluate
- gauge
- judge
- label

## Antonyms
- declassify

## Derived Forms
- autoclassify
- classifiable
- disclassify
- interclassify
- misclassify
- overclassify
- preclassify
- reclassify
- subclassify
- transclassify
- unclassify
- underclassify

## Related Forms
- alphabetize
- arrange
- class
- classification
- distribute
- guess
- index
- rank

## Roots and Affixes
- Affix: -ify - to make

## Etymology
From French classifier. By surface analysis, class + -ify.

## AI Etymology
classify is a verb. It is from French classifier. By surface analysis, class + -ify. Current senses include to arrange things into groups according to their type or qualities and to officially decide that information is secret, especially for the government. Derived forms include autoclassify, classifiable, disclassify, interclassify, and misclassify. Related words include alphabetize, arrange, class, and classification.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

markdown