individuation

[ in-duh-vij-oo-ey-shuh n ]

/ ˌɪn dəˌvɪdʒ uˈeɪ ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR individuation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

state of being individuated; individual existence; individuality.

Philosophy. the determination or contraction of a general nature to an individual mode of existence; development of the individual from the general.

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Nearby words

Origin of individuation

First recorded in 1620–30; individuate + -ion

Related formsde·in·di·vid·u·a·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for individuation

They merely refuse to confuse it with the fact of individuation.
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life|Emile Durkheim
Theistic determinism does make man a mere vessel, a tool: for Naturalism he is an individuation of the Living All.
Rationalism|John Mackinnon Robertson
These fluctuating lapses from individuation made Mr. Britling a perplexity to many who judged only by the old personal standards.
Mr. Britling Sees It Through|H. G. Wells
In short, genesis decreases as individuation increases, yet not quite so fast.
Herbert Spencer|J. Arthur Thomson

That wherever the principle of grouping acted with effect, it had always been preceded by the principle of individuation.
A Practical Enquiry into the Philosophy of Education|James Gall

British Dictionary definitions for individuation

individuation

/ (ˌɪndɪˌvɪdjʊˈeɪʃən) /

noun

the act or process of individuating

(in the psychology of Jung) the process by which the wholeness of the individual is established through the integration of consciousness and the collective unconscious

zoology the development of separate but mutually interdependent units, as in the development of zooids forming a colony

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 individuation

individuation

1620s, from Medieval Latin individuationem, noun of action from individuare, from individuus (see individual). Psychological sense is from 1909.

Medicine definitions for individuation

individuation

[ ĭn′də-vĭj′ōō-ā′shən ]

n.

The act or process of becoming distinct or individual, especially the process by which social individuals become differentiated one from the other.

In Jungian psychology, gradual integration and unification of the self through the resolution of successive layers of psychological conflict.

The formation of distinct organs or structures through the interaction of adjacent tissues in an embryo.