Background
Background noun - The physical conditions or features that form the setting against which something is viewed.
Identity and background are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Identity" instead a noun "Background".
Identity
Identity noun - The state of being exactly alike.
Background and identity are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Background" instead a noun "Identity".
Mutual synonyms
How words are described
| exact | exact background | exact identity |
| common | common background | common identity |
| specific | specific background | specific identity |
| original | original background | original identity |
| Other adjectives: fake, true, proper, single, strong, actual, entire, real, little, main, new, religious, possible, shared, mysterious, different, cultural, racial, ethnic. | ||
Both words in one sentence
-
Before Elmo gained his own distinct identity, he was an occasional background character.
Source: Series / Sesame Street -
Dead Person Impersonation: In "Stolen", a suspicious character does a background check on Jarod's current identity, and finds that Jarod borrowed it from someone who's been dead since 1979.
Source: Series / The Pretender -
Aztek introduced two background characters, a married superhero couple, neither of whom knew the other's secret identity.
Source: Secret Identity
Cite this Source
Identity and Background. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/background/identity
Background & Identity. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/background/identity>.
Identity or Background. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/background/identity.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "background" and "identity" have occurred on timeline