individualist

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

See more synonyms for individualist on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who shows great independence or individuality in thought or action.
an advocate of individualism.

Origin of individualist

First recorded in 1830–40; individual + -ist

Related formsin·di·vid·u·al·is·tic, adjectivein·di·vid·u·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverbnon·in·di·vid·u·al·is·tic, adjectiveo·ver·in·di·vid·u·al·is·tic, adjectiveo·ver·in·di·vid·u·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverbsu·per·in·di·vid·u·al·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for individualist

independent, maverick

Examples from the Web for individualist

Contemporary Examples of individualist

Their pursuits are individualist, and many seek to be expatriates.
Teaching ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Chengdu, China
Matt Lombardi
May 20, 2013
This nation of immigrants is more go-getting and individualist than their European counterparts.
America Will Never Be Europe
Katty Kay
February 27, 2009

Historical Examples of individualist

Thus the individualist stage of religion succeeds the national.
History of Religion
Allan Menzies
But the individualist stage is also, in part at least, the universal stage.
History of Religion
Allan Menzies
But the individualist insists that there are definite limits to its truth.
The Task of Social Hygiene
Havelock Ellis
The spirit of what he says is, in fact, not individualist but social.
Diderot and the Encyclopdists
John Morley
Bentham, then, objects to the Jacobin theory as too absolute and too 'individualist.'
The English Utilitarians, Volume I.
Leslie Stephen

British Dictionary definitions for individualist

individualist

noun

a person who shows independence and individuality in his behaviour, opinions, or actions
an advocate of individualism

Derived Formsindividualistic, adjectiveindividualistically, adverb

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 individualist

1840, from individual + -ist. Related: Individualistic.