individualism

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French individualisme; synchronically, individual +‎ -ism.

Noun

individualism (countable and uncountable, plural individualisms)

1. The tendency for a person to act without reference to others, particularly in matters of style, fashion or mode of thought.
2. 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.
   • 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., page 165:

     [A]nd that one great and all-important occasion and provocative of these beliefs was actually the rise of self-consciousness — that is, the coming of the mind to a more or less distinct awareness of itself and of its own operation, and the consequent development and growth of Individualism, and of the Self-centred attitude in human thought and action.

1. (logic) The doctrine that only individual things are real.
2. (philosophy) The doctrine that nothing exists but the individual self.

Synonyms

• (philosophy): solipsism

Antonyms

• (acting without reference to others): collectivism, statism

Translations

tendency for a person to act without reference to others

• Catalan: individualisme m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 個人主義／个人主义 (zh) (gèrén zhǔyì), 个人主义 (zh) (gèrénzhǔyì)

• Czech: individualismus m
• French: individualisme (fr) m
• Galician: individualismo (gl) m
• Georgian: ინდივიდუალიზმი (individualizmi)
• German: Individualismus (de) m
• Italian: individualismo (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 個人主義 (こじんしゅぎ, kojinshugi)
• Polish: indywidualizm (pl) m
• Portuguese: individualismo m
• Romanian: individualism (ro) n
• Russian: индивидуали́зм (ru) m (individualízm)
• Serbo-Croatian: individualizam (sh) m, индивидуализам m
• Spanish: individualismo m
• Tagalog: pagkamakasarili
• Ukrainian: індивідуалізм m (indyvidualizm)

moral stance

• Afrikaans: individualisme
• Albanian: andividualizmi m
• Arabic: فردانية (firdanya)
• Armenian: ինդիվիդուալիզմ (hy) (individualizm)
• Asturian: individualismu m
• Basque: indibidualismo
• Belarusian: індывідуалізм m (indyvidualizm)
• Bulgarian: индивидуализъм m (individualizǎm)
• Catalan: individualisme m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 個人主義／个人主义 (go³ jan⁴ zyu² ji⁶)

  Mandarin: 個人主義／个人主义 (zh) (gèrén zhǔyì), 个人主义 (zh) (gèrénzhǔyì)

  Min Nan: 個人主義／个人主义 (kò-jîn-chú-gī)

• Czech: individualismus m
• Danish: individualisme c
• Dutch: individualisme (nl) n
• Esperanto: individuismo
• Finnish: individualismi (fi)
• French: individualisme (fr) m
• Galician: individualismo (gl) m
• Georgian: ინდივიდუალიზმი (individualizmi)
• German: Individualismus (de) m
• Greek: ατομοκρατία (el) f (atomokratía), ατομικισμός (el) m (atomikismós)
• Hebrew: אִינְדִּיבִידוּאָלִיזְם m
• Hindi: व्यक्तिवाद (vyaktivād)
• Hungarian: individualizmus (hu)
• Icelandic: einstaklingshyggja (is) f
• Ido: individualismo (io)
• Indonesian: individualisme (id)
• Irish: indibhidiúlachas m
• Italian: individualismo (it) m
• Japanese: 個人主義 (こじんしゅぎ, kojinshugi)
• Kannada: ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕತಾವಾದ (kn) (pratyēkatāvāda)
• Kazakh: индивидуализм (individualizm)
• Korean: 개인주의 (ko) (gaeinjuui)
• Kurdish:
• Kyrgyz: индивидуализм (ky) (individualizm)
• Latvian: individuālisms m
• Lithuanian: individualizmas (lt) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Lombard: individualism m
• Macedonian: индивидуализам m (individualizam)
• Malagasy: fiolonoloanana
• Malay: individualisme
• Marathi: व्‍यक्तिवाद (v‍yaktivād)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: individualisme m

  Nynorsk: individualisme m

• Occitan: individualisme m
• Pashto: ځانگړواله (ps)
• Persian: فردگرایی (fa)
• Polish: indywidualizm (pl) m
• Portuguese: individualismo m
• Romanian: individualism (ro) n
• Russian: индивидуали́зм (ru) m (individualízm)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: индивидуалѝзам m

  Roman: individualìzam (sh) m

• Slovak: individualizmus m
• Slovene: individualizem m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: indiwidualizm m

  Upper Sorbian: indiwidualizm m

• Spanish: individualismo m
• Swahili: ubinafsi
• Swedish: individualism (sv) c
• Tagalog: pagkamakasarili, indibidwalismo
• Tamil: தனிமனிதத்துவம் (taṉimaṉitattuvam)
• Tatar: индивидуальлек (indiwiduwal’lek)
• Telugu: వ్యక్తివాదం (vyaktivādaṁ)
• Thai: ปัจเจกนิยม (bpàt-jàyk ní-yom)
• Turkish: bireycilik (tr)
• Turkmen: indiwidualizm
• Ukrainian: індивідуалі́зм m (indyvidualízm)
• Uzbek:

  Cyrillic: индивидуализм (uz) (individualizm)

  Roman: individualizm (uz)

• Welsh: unigolyddiaeth f

References

• OED2