individualist

American  

[in-duh-vij-oo-uh-list] / ˌɪn dəˈvɪdʒ u ə lɪst /

noun

1. a person who shows great independence or individuality in thought or action.

2. an advocate of individualism.

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individualist British  

/ ˌɪndɪˈvɪdjʊəlɪst /

noun

1. a person who shows independence and individuality in his behaviour, opinions, or actions

2. an advocate of individualism

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Other Word Forms

• individualistic adjective
• individualistically adverb
• superindividualist noun

Etymology

Origin of individualist

First recorded in 1830–40; individual + -ist

Explanation

If you’re an individualist, you think for yourself and do things your own way — you have the individualist values of independence and creativity. It is great to be an individualist, meaning you won't conform to social pressures — that is, unless a group of individualists is trying to come to mutual agreement about something. You may have heard of bands that break up because "creative differences" make them unable to write music together. Most likely, those differences are the result of individualist attitudes about how the music should sound.

Example Sentences

“And I think those with the most power and influence are in the individualist frame.”

From Slate • Feb. 21, 2026

Brazilian showman Lucas Pinheiro Braathen bagged South America's first-ever Winter Olympic medal on Saturday, his giant slalom victory capping a dream for the self-proclaimed individualist.

From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026

So much so that we have names for the type: maverick, individualist, iconoclast, dissenter, rebel, freethinker.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 18, 2026

“London produces young, individualist designers from all over the UK and who belong to multiple cultures... London supports and seeks out emerging talent like no other city.”

From BBC • Sep. 14, 2024

The cooperative option is to remain silent, while the individualist option is to confess.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos