distinguish vs identify

distinguish and identify both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
distinguish	No	No	Yes	No
identify	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, identify is a hypernym of distinguish; that is, identify is a word with a broader meaning than distinguish:

distinguish: mark as different
identify: recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something

Other hypernyms of distinguish include place.

As verbs, distinguish and identify are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of distinguish include describe, discover, key, key out, name.

distinguish (verb)	identify (verb)
mark as different	recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something
identify as in botany or biology, for example	identify as in botany or biology, for example
be a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait; sometimes in a very positive sense	consider to be equal or the same
make conspicuous or noteworthy	conceive of as united or associated
detect with the senses	consider (oneself) as similar to somebody else
	give the name or identifying characteristics of; refer to by name or some other identifying characteristic property