Dictionary

individuality en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌɪndɪvɪd͡ʒuˈælɪti/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree English individual Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Latin -itāsder. Old French -itebor. Middle English -ite English -ity English individuality From individual + -ity. Displaced native Old English hād.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) The characteristics that contribute to the differentiation or distinction of someone or something from a group of otherwise comparable identity.
   • Even in an era when individuality in dress is a cult, his clothes were noticeable. He was wearing a hard hat of the low round kind favoured by hunting men, and with it a black duffle-coat lined with white. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
   • The researchers posit that something they call the “hipster effect” asserts itself in human populations no matter how individualistic we imagine ourselves to be, because it’s individuality itself that sparks conformity. 2014 December 2, David DiSalvo, “Are You Vulnerable to the Hipster Effect?”, in Psychology Today, archived from the original on 30 Aug 2025:
   • It is affirmed, that individuality pervades universal nature; that it is positively the most fundamental and universal principle which the finite mind seems capable of discovering, and the best image of the infinite. There are no two objects in the universe which are precisely alike. 1856, William Pare, Equitable Villages in America:
2. (countable) A person.
   • As persons, therefore—gigantic individualities—they wheeled into the feudal ranks and assumed feudal powers and responsibilities. 1856, John Lothrop Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic:

Forms

Relateds

dividuality · individual

Translations (28)

es individualidad (characteristic of being individual) · tr bireysellik (characteristic of being individual) · gl individualidade (characteristic of being individual) · ru индивидуа́льность (characteristic of being individual) · nl individualiteit (characteristic of being individual) · bg индивидуалност (characteristic of being individual) · ka ინდივიდუალობა (characteristic of being individual) · es individuidad (characteristic of being individual) · hi ज़ात (characteristic of being individual) · el ατομικότητα (characteristic of being individual) · hy անհատականություն (characteristic of being individual) · fa فردیت (characteristic of being individual) · ja 個性 (characteristic of being individual) · az fərdiyyət (characteristic of being individual) · te వ్యక్తిత్వము (characteristic of being individual) · az fərdilik (characteristic of being individual) · ka ინდივიდუალურობა (characteristic of being individual) · fi yksilöllisyys (characteristic of being individual) · pl indywidualność (characteristic of being individual) · fr individualité (characteristic of being individual) · it individualità (characteristic of being individual) · ms individualiti (characteristic of being individual) · ka პიროვნულობა (characteristic of being individual) · hi व्यक्तित्व (characteristic of being individual) · pt individualidade (characteristic of being individual) · ca individualitat (characteristic of being individual) · cs jednotlivost (characteristic of being individual) · mi tūhāhā (characteristic of being individual)