individual
n. · adj.-
1 a single person (n.) A2 Elementaryone person, considered separately from the rest of their group or society.
a single human being as distinct from a group, class, or family.
ExampleThe rights of the individual are just as important as the needs of the group.
ExampleThe study focuses on how the individual adapts to new social environments without the immediate support of their original community.
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2 legal or statistical unit (n.) B2 Upper Intermediate Technical Academic Lawa single person or thing used as a unit in law, science, or math.
a single physical human being as a legal subject, or a single element within a statistical population.
ExampleIn this survey, each individual was asked about their daily habits.
ExampleThe law distinguishes between the liability of the individual and the liability of the corporation they represent.
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3 for one person (adj.) B1 Intermediatemeant for only one person rather than a group.
intended for, used by, or relating to a single person rather than a collective.
ExampleThe teacher gave the students individual attention to help them with the difficult task.
ExampleEach athlete follows an individual training programme tailored to their specific physical strengths and weaknesses.
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4 unique or distinct (adj.) B2 Upper Intermediatehaving a special quality that makes someone or something different from others.
distinctive or characteristic of a particular person or thing.
ExampleShe has a very individual style of painting that is easy to recognise.
ExampleThe architect's individual approach to urban design often challenged the conventional standards of the period.
PIE word *dwóh₁ From Medieval Latin indīviduālis, from Latin indīviduum (“an indivisible thing”), neuter of indīviduus (“indivisible, undivided”), from in + dīviduus (“divisible”), from dīvidō (“divide”).
- Nounindividual
- Nounindividualism
- Nounindividuality
- Adjectiveindividualistic
- Adverbindividually