individual

English Online Dictionary. What means individual‎? What does individual mean?

English

Alternative forms

• individuall (obsolete)

Etymology

From Medieval Latin indīviduālis, from Latin indīviduum (“an indivisible thing”), neuter of indīviduus (“indivisible, undivided”), from in + dīviduus (“divisible”), from dīvidō (“divide”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪndɪˈvɪd͡ʒʊ(ə)l/, /ɪndɪˈvɪdjʊ(ə)l/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɪndɪˈvɪd͡ʒ(u)əl/, /ˌɪndə-/

Noun

individual (plural individuals)

1. A person considered alone, rather than as belonging to a group of people.
2. (law) A single physical human being as a legal subject, as opposed to a legal person such as a corporation.
3. An object, be it a thing or an agent, as contrasted to a class.
4. (statistics) An element belonging to a population.

Translations

Adjective

individual (comparative more individual, superlative most individual)

1. Relating to a single person or thing as opposed to more than one.
2. Intended for a single person as opposed to more than one person.

3. Not divisible without losing its identity.

Synonyms

• (relating to a single person or thing): single, self-standing
• (intended for a single person or thing): personal, single

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “relating to a single person or thing”): collective
• (antonym(s) of “intended for a single person or thing”): group, joint, shared

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• “individual”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “individual”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• "individual" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 161.

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [in.di.βi.ðuˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [in.di.vi.ðuˈal]

Adjective

individual m or f (masculine and feminine plural individuals)

1. individual

Derived terms

• individualisme
• individualista
• individualitzar
• individualment

Related terms

• individu
• individualitat

Further reading

• “individual” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Galician

Adjective

individual m or f (plural individuais)

1. individual

Derived terms

• individualismo
• individualista
• individualizar
• individualmente

Related terms

• individuo
• individualidade

Further reading

• “individual”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

Portuguese

Etymology

From indivíduo +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: in‧di‧vi‧du‧al

Adjective

individual m or f (plural individuais)

1. individual

Derived terms

• individualismo
• individualista
• individualmente

Related terms

• indivíduo

Further reading

• “individual”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French individuel. By surface analysis, individ +‎ -ual.

Pronunciation

Adjective

individual m or n (feminine singular individuală, masculine plural individuali, feminine and neuter plural individuale)

1. individual

Declension

Related terms

• individualism
• individualist
• individualitate

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /indibiˈdwal/ [ĩn̪.d̪i.β̞iˈð̞wal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: in‧di‧vi‧dual

Adjective

individual m or f (masculine and feminine plural individuales)

1. individual
2. case-by-case
3. one-on-one (e.g., relationship or bond)
4. one-man (e.g., a one-man show)
5. personal, individualized

Derived terms

Related terms

Noun

individual m (plural individuales)

1. place mat

   Synonym: salvamanteles

Further reading

• “individual”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10