The Meaning of Identify

Question

The sentence below is from Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets: A Comprehensive Guide to ... by John J. Murphy.

An uptrend would be defined as a series of successively higher peaks and troughs; a downtrend is just the opposite, a series of declining peaks and troughs; horizontal peaks and troughs would identify a sideways price trend.

The underlined ‘identify’ does not seem right to me.

It I composed the same sentence I’d rather put it as ‘be identified as’.

Am I right in my line of reasoning?

If I am right I have one more question.

Of the two expressions?‘identify’ vs. ‘be identified as’?which is a frequent one?

Thanks a lot.

Clive · Accepted Answer

The sentence below is from Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets: A Comprehensive Guide to ... by John J. Murphy.

An uptrend would be defined as a series of successively higher peaks and troughs; a downtrend is just the opposite, a series of declining peaks and troughs; horizontal peaks and troughs would identify a sideways price trend.

The underlined ‘identify’ does not seem right to me. I agree.

It I composed the same sentence I’d rather put it as ‘be identified as’. Yes. Or you could consider 'is defined as', to make the sentence seem more parallel in structure.

Am I right in my line of reasoning? Yes

If I am right I have one more question.

Of the two expressions?‘identify’ vs. ‘be identified as’?which is a frequent one?I don't know, but I think the latter.

An uptrend is ~~would be~~ defined as a series of successively higher peaks and troughs; a downtrend is just the opposite, a series of successively declining peaks and troughs; horizontal peaks and troughs ~~would~~ are defined as a sideways price trend.

I think the definition of a sideways price trend (horizontal peaks and toughs) needs a bit more explanation.)

Clive

The Meaning of Identify

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