tell apart vs identify

tell apart and identify both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
tell apart	No	No	Yes	No
identify	No	No	Yes	No

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

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

Other hypernyms of tell apart include place.

tell apart (verb)	identify (verb)
mark as different	recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something
detect with the senses	identify as in botany or biology, for example
	consider to be equal or the same
	conceive of as united or associated
	consider (oneself) as similar to somebody else
	give the name or identifying characteristics of; refer to by name or some other identifying characteristic property