individual
/ˌɪndɪˈvɪd͡ʒ(u)əl/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.00 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
5
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A person considered alone, rather than as belonging to a group of people.
noun
A single physical human being as a legal subject, as opposed to a legal person such as a corporation.
noun
An object, be it a thing or an agent, as contrasted to a class.
noun
An element belonging to a population.
adj
Relating to a single person or thing as opposed to more than one.
adj
Intended for a single person as opposed to more than one person.
Example Sentences
- "He is an unusual individual."
- "“You have to be an individual,” said Ms. Smoke, a 40-year-old saleswoman, as she sipped her beverage. “You can’t just get black coffee.”"
- "Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination […]."
- "It is typically held that chairs, trees, rocks, people and many of the so-called ‘everyday’ objects we encounter can be regarded as individuals."
- "In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual."
- "Near-synonyms: individuated, solitary, self-standing, freestanding"
Etymology
PIE word *dwóh₁ From Medieval Latin indīviduālis, from Latin indīviduum (“an indivisible thing”), neuter of indīviduus (“indivisible, undivided”), from in + dīviduus (“divisible”), from dīvidō (“divide”). Displaced native Old English hād (“person, individual”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: indīviduālis, indīviduum
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɪndɪˈvɪd͡ʒ(u)əl/
Inflected Forms
individuals (plural)
individuall (alternative, obsolete)
more individual (comparative)
most individual (superlative)