in·di·vid·u·al
ˌin-də-ˈvi-jə-wəl 
-ˈvij-wəl,
-ˈvi-jəl,
-ˈvi-jü-əl
1
a
: of, relating to, or distinctively associated with an individual
an individual effort
b
: intended for one person
an individual serving
c
: being an individual or existing as an indivisible whole
2
: having marked individuality
an individual style
3
: existing as a distinct entity : separate
4
obsolete
: inseparable
individually
adverb
1
a
: a particular being or thing as distinguished from a class, species, or collection: such as
(1)
: a single human being as contrasted with a social group or institution
a teacher who works with individuals
(2)
: a single organism as distinguished from a group
b
: a particular person
are you the individual I spoke with on the telephone?
2
: an indivisible entity
3
: the reference of a name or variable of the lowest logical type in a calculus
Synonyms
Examples of individual in a Sentence
Adjective
What are the individual traits of the breed?
The doctor carefully evaluates the individual needs of her patients.
Students will receive as much individual attention as possible.
She has a very individual style of writing.
a pattern as individual as a fingerprint
Noun
They promote a philosophy that sacrifices the rights of the individual for the public welfare.
They are both rather odd individuals.
Are you the individual I spoke with on the telephone?
She's a very talented individual.
The markings on tigers are unique to each individual.
Recent Examples on the Web
Sheri Berman, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
By election day, Weiss had raised more than $2 million from individual contributions — more than any other non-incumbent woman running for Congress in the U.S., McLaughlin said.
—Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
These types of stocks typically attract individual investors based on social media buzz, rather than traditional financial metrics favored by investors, such as revenue and profit growth.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2024
After Stagecoach, Lambert has other country festivals and individual dates booked through the end of September.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 23 Apr. 2024
The House on Saturday approved the individual aid packages on overwhelmingly bipartisan votes despite failing to act on the foreign aid due to opposition from some on the right, and the legislation was packaged together and sent to the Senate.
—Lawrence Andrea, Journal Sentinel, 23 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Based on interviews with vendors, former employees, customers a and court filings, creditors could include a combination of landlords, individual customers, vendors, merchants the company was doing business with, and unpaid bills that may have accumulated while operating the business.
—Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2024
Necker Island, which has historically only been available for whole-island buyouts, recently opened to individual bookings.
—Shannon McMahon, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Apr. 2024
The company's largest retail shareholder and third largest individual shareholder, Leo Koguan, is reported by Electrek to be voting against the compensation package and the re-election of board members including Musk's brother Kimbal.
—James Powel, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2024
Jon Haworth, ABC News, 24 Apr. 2024
An individual who set out to magnet fish ended up finding evidence in connection to a nine-year-old case out of Georgia, authorities said in a news release Monday.
—Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2024
But his music and his politics aside, the show-stealer on Tuesday night was the same individual who stole a little bit of Hozier’s thunder by gushing about his historic hit before the sun had gone down: Allison Russell.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2024
This story was produced with financial support from individuals and Berkowitz Contemporary Arts in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
During a fourth quarter in which the Lakers had two assists, the Nuggets had six assists, a true team competing against what appeared to be five individuals.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
Married women lived under the legal doctrine of coverture, in which their individual, legal identities were subsumed under those of their husbands.
—TIME, 22 Apr. 2024
Gege Reed The five nominees for Courier Journal Student of the Week are scholars, overcomers and all-round inspiring individuals.
—The Courier-Journal, 22 Apr. 2024
Two individuals were treated at the scene for minor injuries and two others were transported to the hospitalfor minor injuries as well.
—Melissa Noel, Essence, 12 Apr. 2024
Adjective
This is certainly true of the Trumpist version of the Republican Party, which has made clear its disdain not merely for pluralism and individual rights but also for democracy itself.
—Sheri Berman, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
By election day, Weiss had raised more than $2 million from individual contributions — more than any other non-incumbent woman running for Congress in the U.S., McLaughlin said.
—Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
These types of stocks typically attract individual investors based on social media buzz, rather than traditional financial metrics favored by investors, such as revenue and profit growth.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2024
After Stagecoach, Lambert has other country festivals and individual dates booked through the end of September.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 23 Apr. 2024
The House on Saturday approved the individual aid packages on overwhelmingly bipartisan votes despite failing to act on the foreign aid due to opposition from some on the right, and the legislation was packaged together and sent to the Senate.
—Lawrence Andrea, Journal Sentinel, 23 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Based on interviews with vendors, former employees, customers a and court filings, creditors could include a combination of landlords, individual customers, vendors, merchants the company was doing business with, and unpaid bills that may have accumulated while operating the business.
—Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2024
Necker Island, which has historically only been available for whole-island buyouts, recently opened to individual bookings.
—Shannon McMahon, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Apr. 2024
The company's largest retail shareholder and third largest individual shareholder, Leo Koguan, is reported by Electrek to be voting against the compensation package and the re-election of board members including Musk's brother Kimbal.
—James Powel, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2024
Noun
The protests on campus have been largely peaceful, according to school administrators, with some officials, including the NYPD, as well as protesters blaming unaffiliated individuals for instances of violence and offensive rhetoric.
—Jon Haworth, ABC News, 24 Apr. 2024
An individual who set out to magnet fish ended up finding evidence in connection to a nine-year-old case out of Georgia, authorities said in a news release Monday.
—Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2024
But his music and his politics aside, the show-stealer on Tuesday night was the same individual who stole a little bit of Hozier’s thunder by gushing about his historic hit before the sun had gone down: Allison Russell.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2024
This story was produced with financial support from individuals and Berkowitz Contemporary Arts in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
During a fourth quarter in which the Lakers had two assists, the Nuggets had six assists, a true team competing against what appeared to be five individuals.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
Married women lived under the legal doctrine of coverture, in which their individual, legal identities were subsumed under those of their husbands.
—TIME, 22 Apr. 2024
Gege Reed The five nominees for Courier Journal Student of the Week are scholars, overcomers and all-round inspiring individuals.
—The Courier-Journal, 22 Apr. 2024
Two individuals were treated at the scene for minor injuries and two others were transported to the hospitalfor minor injuries as well.
—Melissa Noel, Essence, 12 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'individual.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to individual
Dictionary Entries Near individual
Cite this Entry
“Individual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/individual. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
individual
1 of 2 adjective
in·di·vid·u·al
ˌin-də-ˈvij-(ə-)wəl
-ˈvij-əl
1
: of or relating to an individual
individual traits
2
: intended for one person
individual servings
3
: particular entry 1 sense 1, separate
individual copies
4
: having a special quality : distinct
an individual style
individually
adverb
-ē
individual
2 of 2 noun1
: a single member of a class, species, or collection
2
: a single human being
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