individuate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to form into an individual or distinct entity.
-
to give an individual or distinctive character to; individualize.
verb (used without object)
-
to make distinctions.
to individuate among one's students.
-
to become individualized or distinctive.
With maturity, the artist individuated.
verb
-
to give individuality or an individual form to
-
to distinguish from others of the same species or group; individualize
Other Word 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.
See Examples For:
The Jonas Brothers in 2023 offer cool adult-contemporary sounds for an audience that grew up with them, similarly navigating the life that emerges once you begin to individuate, become intimate and start families.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
But at varying points, each tries to individuate themselves from their father, and much of the suspense lies in how Rupert schemes to draw them back under his influence.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 23, 2022
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
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
How feeble this attempt is to individuate, is most clearly shown in their mode of generation.
From Hints towards the formation of a more comprehensive theory of life. by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Western traditions want to assert an autonomous being who is strongly individuated from other beings.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022
“It kind of has to be a collective support structure, not an individuated one of. And how do we do that without real government policy?”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2021
Such a space can represent the wish image of air travel: a personalized adventure, the individuated feeling of being spirited up and across a continent or ocean with no apparent obstacles.
From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2020
“While taking separate honeymoons may seem extreme, highly individuated couples may view their independence and separate experiences as a strength of their relationship,” Ms. Bobby said.
From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2019
Many of the people in the paintings are sharply individuated.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
“Counter to what we expected, the individuating information didn’t reduce or remove bias,” Ellingson said.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 9, 2021
To be “one of Harvey’s victims” is—has to be—the opposite of individuating.
From Slate ● Feb. 20, 2020
It’s a little like when we were talking about childhood and individuating.
From New York Times ● May 14, 2018
They cause trouble, however, when we refuse to take the context/environment or individuating information that we've received into account, and when we continue to over-apply our existing stereotypes in scenarios where they are really inappropriate and/or not helpful.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 15, 2015
Hence, too, the individual as such cannot be adequately apprehended by intellect; for all intelligible principles of reality are formal, whereas the individuating principle is material.
From Ontology or the Theory of Being by Peter Coffey
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
