individualism
[in-duh-vij-oo-uh-liz-uh m]
- a social theory advocating the liberty, rights, or independent action of the individual.
- the principle or habit of or belief in independent thought or action.
- the pursuit of individual rather than common or collective interests; egoism.
- individual character; individuality.
- an individual peculiarity.
- Philosophy.
- the doctrine that only individual things are real.
- the doctrine or belief that all actions are determined by, or at least take place for, the benefit of the individual, not of society as a whole.
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Origin of individualism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for individualism
Contemporary Examples
By sticking to the variation you hold by, there is individualism.
Ross Douthat offers a clue when he calls ours the “Age of Individualism.”
The Cossacks stood for freedom and individualism, and central Russia would do anything to keep them from spreading their ideals.
Historically, the Cossack way of living was one of disorder and adaption, of individualism and egalitarianism.
Instead, each American should spend his days cultivating his individualism, his selfhood.
Historical Examples
No catalogue of American qualities and defects can exclude the trait of individualism.
The American MindBliss Perry
No sovereign or minister, no government, can win the favor of Prussian individualism.
Blood and IronJohn Hubert Greusel
As has been indicated, the frontier is productive of individualism.
The Frontier in American HistoryFrederick Jackson Turner
A most striking feature of the northern migration was its individualism.
Negro Migration during the WarEmmett J. Scott
This individualism has had the freest play, and we are not likely to lose all that it has given us.
The Task of Social HygieneHavelock Ellis
individualism
- the action or principle of asserting one's independence and individuality; egoism
- an individual quirk or peculiarity
- another word for laissez faire (def. 1)
- philosophy the doctrine that only individual things exist and that therefore classes or properties have no realityCompare Platonism, realism (def. 5)
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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 individualism
n.
"self-centered feeling," 1827, from individual + -ism. As a social philosophy (opposed to communism and socialism) first attested 1851 in writings of J.S. Mill.
A majority can never replace the individual. ... Just as a hundred fools do not make one wise man, a heroic decision is not likely to come from a hundred cowards. [Adolf Hitler, "Mein Kampf," 1933]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
individualism
A view that stresses the importance and worth of each person. In economics, it is the doctrine that individuals best serve the public interest by pursuing their own self-interest. For example, the businessman who expands his company to increase his profits also creates jobs for many people and thereby serves the public interest. (See laissez-faire.)
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.