Deanonymize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Reveal the true identity of a person whose name has been withheld or concealed
2. Expose who someone really is after they have been acting or speaking without a name attached
3. Make known the real name behind an anonymous author, donor, or other unnamed party

Etymology: "Deanonymize" is formed from the prefix "de-", meaning to reverse or undo, and "anonymize", so the whole word means to remove the anonymity from something. The prefix comes from Latin "de", which carries the sense of undoing or removing, as in "decode" or "defrost," and it was attached to "anonymize" to produce a verb for reversing the concealment of a person's identity. The base word "anonymize" is itself built from "anonymous," which comes through Late Latin "anonymus" from Greek "anōnymos," literally "without a name." The verb "anonymize" is the younger part of the pair, and "deanonymize" follows the same pattern: it names the act of stripping away the protective cover that anonymity provides, most often when someone's identity is inferred from data that was supposed to be unattributed.

Synonyms: unmask, identify, expose, reveal

Antonyms: anonymize