individualistic
Americanadjective
-
prioritizing the pursuit of individual interests or rights rather than common or collective ones.
In our culture we seem to be moving toward a predominantly individualistic mindset, where egoism is in and altruism is out.
-
showing great independence or individuality in thought or action.
Never has the nation produced a more brilliantly argumentative, individualistic, or opinionated group of politicians than our founders.
-
Philosophy. of or relating to a belief that all actions are determined by, or for the benefit of, the individual, not society as a whole.
The attempt to construct a new social order on the basis of individualistic doctrine was bound to fail, because the shared customs and practices that make up the common life of society are too valuable.
Other Word Forms
- individualistically adverb
- nonindividualistic adjective
- overindividualistic adjective
- overindividualistically adverb
Etymology
Origin of individualistic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We also live in the most individualistic society on record, with an obsession on personal growth and happiness.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
"We live in an increasingly individualistic society. I think loneliness is a symptom of our failure to care for each other."
From BBC • Dec. 17, 2025
The Dutch model also met some resistance in the U.S., with our more fractured health care system and our more individualistic culture.
From Slate • Jun. 23, 2025
Zuckerberg's former COO Sheryl Sandberg got a lot of grief, much of it well-deserved, for her "Lean In" book and its watered-down, individualistic approach to feminism.
From Salon • Jan. 17, 2025
Mr. Dyer went into another long lecture about the different way of viewing the world from the perspective of a culture that thought more communally than the highly individualistic United States.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
