individual

[in-duh-vij-oo-uh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR individual ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a single human being, as distinguished from a group.

a person: a strange individual.

a distinct, indivisible entity; a single thing, being, instance, or item.

a group considered as a unit.

Biology.

a single organism capable of independent existence.
a member of a compound organism or colony.

Cards. a duplicate-bridge tournament in which each player plays the same number of hands in partnership with every other player, individual scores for each player being kept for each hand.

adjective

single; particular; separate: to number individual copies of a limited edition.

intended for the use of one person only: to serve individual portions of a pizza.

of, relating to, or characteristic of a particular person or thing: individual tastes.

distinguished by special, singular, or markedly personal characteristics; exhibiting unique or unusual qualities: a highly individual style of painting.

existing as a distinct, indivisible entity, or considered as such; discrete: individual parts of a tea set.

of which each is different or of a different design from the others: a set of individual coffee cups.

Origin of individual

1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin indīviduālis, equivalent to Latin indīvidu(us) indivisible (in- in-³ + dīvid(ere) to divide + -uus deverbal adj. suffix) + -ālis -al¹

Related formsin·ter·in·di·vid·u·al, adjectivenon·in·di·vid·u·al, adjectivesu·per·in·di·vid·u·al, adjective, nounsu·per·in·di·vid·u·al·ly, adverbtrans·in·di·vid·u·al, adjective

Can be confusedindividual party person (see usage note at the current entry) (see synonym study at person)

Synonym study

2. See person.

Usage note

1, 2. As a synonym for person, individual is standard, occurring in all varieties of speech and writing: Three individuals entered the room, each carrying a sheaf of papers. Some object to this use, insisting that individual can mean only “a single human being, as distinguished from a group”: An individual may have concerns that are ignored by his or her party.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for individual

Can they determine that individual citizens should not have access to rights provided by the Constitution?
The Back Alley, Low Blow-Ridden Fight to Stop Gay Marriage in Florida Is Finally Over|Jay Michaelson|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
For anything to work, including law itself, there must be ample room for individual responsibility.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And the hope is that if you can change their individual lives, it will have an impact on their families.
Dr. Howard Fuller's Injustice Education|Campbell Brown|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Schools are extremely important to create the possibility for individual lives to be better.
Dr. Howard Fuller's Injustice Education|Campbell Brown|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST

For the individual patient, there is the potential for side effects or adverse reactions.
Without Education, Antibiotic Resistance Will Be Our Greatest Health Crisis|Russell Saunders|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the individual Englishman that they know, they take at his real value.
Life of Frederick Courtenay Selous, D.S.O.|J.G. Millais
In dairy work the individual preferences of the cows are given attention and their whimsy catered to by the herdsman.
The Dollar Hen|Milo M. Hastings
By the necessity of our constitution a certain enthusiasm attends the individual's consciousness of that divine presence.
Essays, First Series|Ralph Waldo Emerson
This individual we have kept to the last, though he was little more than a private person, and is not at all famous.
A Jar of Honey from Mount Hybla|Leigh Hunt
She had long since ceased to be interested in Billy Burgeman as an individual.
Seven Miles to Arden|Ruth Sawyer

British Dictionary definitions for individual

individual

adjective

of, relating to, characteristic of, or meant for a single person or thing

separate or distinct, esp from others of its kind; particularplease mark the individual pages

characterized by unusual and striking qualities; distinctive

obsolete indivisible; inseparable

noun

a single person, esp when regarded as distinct from others

biology

a single animal or plant, esp as distinct from a species
a single member of a compound organism or colony

logic

Also called: particularan object as opposed to a property or class
an element of the domain of discourse of a theory

Derived Formsindividually, adverb

Word Origin for individual

C15: from Medieval Latin indīviduālis, from Latin indīviduus indivisible, from in- 1 + dīviduus divisible, from dīvidere to divide

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for individual

adj.

early 15c., "one and indivisible" (with reference to the Trinity), from Medieval Latin individualis, from Latin individuus "indivisible," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + dividuus "divisible," from dividere "divide" (see divide). Not common before c.1600 and the 15c. usage might be isolated. Sense of "single, separate" is 1610s; meaning "intended for one person" is from 1889.

"single object or thing," c.1600, from individual (adj.). Colloquial sense of "person" is attested from 1742. Latin individuum meant "an atom, indivisible particle;" in Middle English individuum was used in sense of "individual member of a species" from early 15c.

individual

noun

adjective

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Origin of individual

Synonym study

Usage note

Examples from the Web for individual

individual

adjective

noun

Word Origin for individual