individuate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to form into an individual or distinct entity.
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to give an individual or distinctive character to; individualize.
verb (used without object)
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to make distinctions.
to individuate among one's students.
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to become individualized or distinctive.
With maturity, the artist individuated.
verb
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to give individuality or an individual form to
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to distinguish from others of the same species or group; individualize
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of individuate
First recorded in 1605–15; from Medieval Latin indīviduātus, past participle of indīviduāre “to make individual”; see individual, -ate 1
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.
I try to make sure it’s all the steps along the route as you individuate from your family and become a professional.
From The Verge • May 3, 2022
Second, a 2-year-old is starting to individuate, meaning he’s finding his own mind and owning his body.
From Washington Post • Mar. 2, 2022
Fungi are also notoriously elusive: They mostly lay underground, sprout unpredictably, and their intricately tangled networks can make them difficult to individuate as single specimens.
From Salon • Sep. 7, 2021
When death comes in bulk as constantly as it does in America, there is little time to individuate victims, to mourn them as singular persons, the way those who loved and knew them will.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 28, 2021
Aristotle avoided the question whether form or matter individuate; he held that there is no form and no matter extrinsic to the individual.
From Science and Medieval Thought The Harveian Oration Delivered Before the Royal College of Physicians, October 18, 1900 by Allbutt, Sir Thomas Clifford
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.
