contrarian

noun

con·​trar·​i·​an kən-ˈtrer-ē-ən 

kän-

: a person who takes a contrary position or attitude

specifically : an investor who buys shares of stock when most others are selling and sells when others are buying

contrarian adjective

contrarianism

kən-ˈtrer-ē-ə-ˌniz-əm 

kän-

noun

Did you know?

Anyone who thinks that most of what the public believes is wrong would be called a contrarian. And contrarian is a basic term in the vocabulary of investing. In fact, most successful investors often behave like contrarians by "buying low and selling high"—that is, buying stocks that are cheap because most investors put a low value on them but that have the possibility of rising, and selling stocks that most investors are valuing highly but that seem likely to decline. The word may be most common as an adjective; so you may express a contrarian opinion, hold a contrarian view, or pursue a contrarian investment strategy.

Examples of contrarian in a Sentence

As an investor, he's a contrarian, preferring to buy stocks when most people are selling.

Recent Examples on the Web

The rise in bullish sentiment also has contrarians anticipating the other shoe will soon drop, as they investors could be done with buying stocks. —Sarah Min, CNBC, 6 Dec. 2024

All of that, though, was just the competitive contrarian in him, which extended to his off-court empathy for subjects and people that the sport can relegate or try to avoid. —Matthew Futterman, The Athletic, 6 July 2024

Anger about the government’s response to the pandemic swept the COVID contrarians into power. —Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 25 Nov. 2024

According to Guerrero's biography, Miller, a contrarian by nature, began rebelling early against the liberal bent of his family, hometown and high school. —Lauren Villagran, USA TODAY, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

contr(ary) entry 2 + -arian

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined above