Definition

1. Noun:
   • The distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity: The set of qualities and characteristics that make a person different from others and remain consistent over time.
   • The quality of being individual: The state or fact of being a single, distinct person or thing, separate from a group or mass.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • She expressed her individuality through her unique style of painting.
  • The school encourages students to develop their own individuality and not just follow the crowd.
  • In a large corporation, it's easy for an employee's sense of individuality to be lost.

Advanced Usage

• "A sense of individuality": A personal awareness or feeling of being a distinct person.
  • Moving to a big city helped him develop a stronger sense of individuality.
• "To assert/preserve one's individuality": To actively express or maintain one's unique character.
  • Despite the uniform dress code, she found small ways to assert her individuality.

Variants and Related Words

• Individual (adj/n): Relating to a single person or thing; a single human being.
  • Each individual student has different needs.
• Individualize (v): To make something distinctive or suited to a particular person.
  • The teacher tries to individualize instruction for her students.
• Individualism (n): A social theory favoring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control; the habit or principle of being independent and self-reliant.
  • The culture's emphasis on individualism shapes its economic policies.

Synonyms

• Identity: The fact of being who or what a person or thing is.
• Distinctiveness: The quality of being different or easy to recognize.
• Uniqueness: The quality of being the only one of its kind.
• Personality: The combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.

Antonyms

• Conformity: Compliance with standards, rules, or laws; behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions.
• Sameness: Lack of variety; uniformity.
• Collectivity: The quality of being a collective whole.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "To stand out from the crowd": To be noticeably different from others (conceptually related to expressing individuality).
  • Her artistic vision really makes her stand out from the crowd.
• "A loss of individuality": The feeling or state of having one's unique characteristics suppressed or absorbed by a group.
  • The strict routines of boot camp can lead to a loss of individuality for new recruits.

Noun

1. the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity
   • you can lose your identity when you join the army
2. the quality of being individual
   • so absorbed by the movement that she lost all sense of individuality