Etymology
Borrowed from French individualisme. By surface analysis, individual (from Medieval Latin indīviduālis, from Latin indīviduum (“an indivisible thing”), neuter of indīviduus (“indivisible, undivided”), from in + dīviduus (“divisible”), from dīvidō (“divide”)) + -ism.
Noun
individualism (countable and uncountable, plural individualisms)
- The tendency for a person to act without reference to others, particularly in matters of style, fashion, or mode of thought.
- The moral stance, political philosophy, or social outlook that promotes independence and self-reliance of individual people, while opposing the interference with each person's choices by society, the state, or any other group or institution.
- (logic) The doctrine that only individual things are real.
- (philosophy) The doctrine that nothing exists but the individual self.
Derived terms
- anarcho-individualism
- rugged individualism
Credits
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