mistaken identity

English

Noun

mistaken identity (countable and uncountable, plural mistaken identities)

1. A case of false belief that a certain individual is someone else.

   The police arrested the wrong man; the media reported it as a case of mistaken identity.

2. (law) A defense in criminal law based on this situation, claiming that any eyewitnesses to a crime incorrectly thought that they saw the defendant.

Translations

false belief that someone is someone else

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: virheellinen tunnistus
• Portuguese: identidade equivocada f, identidade trocada f
• Russian: please add this translation if you can

defense in criminal law

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: virheellinen tunnistus
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• mistaken identity on Wikipedia.Wikipedia