individual

[ in-duh-vij-oo-uhl ]
See synonyms for: individualindividuals on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a single human being, as distinguished from a group.

  2. a person: A strange individual came around asking if we wanted to buy any lamps.

  1. a distinct, indivisible entity; a single thing, being, instance, or item.

  2. a group considered as a unit.

  3. Biology.

    • a single organism capable of independent existence.

    • a member of a compound organism or colony.

  4. Cards. a duplicate-bridge tournament in which each player plays the same number of hands in partnership with every other player, individual scores for each player being kept for each hand.

adjective
  1. single; particular; separate: It's standard practice to number individual copies of a limited edition.

  2. intended for the use of one person only: Servers handed out individual portions of a pizza to guests at the party.

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a particular person or thing: The decor was highly reflective of his individual tastes.

  2. distinguished by special, singular, or markedly personal characteristics; exhibiting unique or unusual qualities: She was known for her highly individual style of painting.

  3. existing as a distinct, indivisible entity, or considered as such; discrete: It can be difficult to replace individual parts of a tea set if one breaks.

  4. belonging to a set or group of which each is different or of a different design from the others: For Christmas they got a set of individual coffee cups.

Origin of individual

1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin indīviduālis, equivalent to Latin indīviduus “indivisible” (from in- negative prefix + dīviduus “divided or divisible into two parts”) + -ālis adjective suffix; cf. in-3, divide, -al1

synonym study For individual

2. See person.

usage note For individual

1, 2. As a synonym for person, individual is standard, occurring in all varieties of speech and writing: Three individuals entered the room, each carrying a sheaf of papers. Some object to this use, insisting that individual can mean only “a single human being, as distinguished from a group”: An individual may have concerns that are ignored by their party.

Other words from individual

  • in·ter·in·di·vid·u·al, adjective
  • non·in·di·vid·u·al, adjective
  • su·per·in·di·vid·u·al, adjective, noun
  • su·per·in·di·vid·u·al·ly, adverb
  • trans·in·di·vid·u·al, adjective

Words that may be confused with individual

  • individual , person (see usage note at the current entry)

Words Nearby individual

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use individual in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for individual

individual

/ (ˌɪndɪˈvɪdjʊəl) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, characteristic of, or meant for a single person or thing

  2. separate or distinct, esp from others of its kind; particular: please mark the individual pages

  1. characterized by unusual and striking qualities; distinctive

  2. obsolete indivisible; inseparable

noun
  1. a single person, esp when regarded as distinct from others

  2. biology

    • a single animal or plant, esp as distinct from a species

    • a single member of a compound organism or colony

  1. logic

    • Also called: particular an object as opposed to a property or class

    • an element of the domain of discourse of a theory

Origin of individual

1
C15: from Medieval Latin indīviduālis, from Latin indīviduus indivisible, from in- 1 + dīviduus divisible, from dīvidere to divide

Derived forms of individual

  • individually, 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