Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Belief in the primary importance of the individual and in the virtues of self-reliance and personal independence.
  • noun Acts or an act based on this belief.
  • noun A doctrine advocating freedom from government regulation in the pursuit of a person's economic goals.
  • noun A doctrine holding that the interests of the individual should take precedence over the interests of the state or social group.
  • noun The quality of being an individual; individuality.
  • noun An individual characteristic; a quirk.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The quality of being distinct or individual; subsistence as a distinct entity; individual character.
  • noun Individuality or independence in action; the principle of acting according to one's own will or for one's own ends; individual as opposed to associate action or common interests.
  • noun Hence That theory of government which favors the non-interference of the state in the affairs of individuals: opposed to socialism or collectivism.
  • noun In logic: The tendency to the doctrine that nothing is real but individual things. The doctrine is, for example, that the laws of nature are not real, but only the things whose mode of behavior is formulated in these laws.
  • noun The doctrine of pure egoism, or that nothing exists but the individual self.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality of being individual; individuality; personality.
  • noun An excessive or exclusive regard to one's personal interest; self-interest; selfishness.
  • noun The principle, policy, or practice of maintaining individuality, or independence of the individual, in action; the theory or practice of maintaining the independence of individual initiative, action, and interests, as in industrial organization or in government.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The tendency for a person to act without reference to others, particularly in matters of style, fashion or mode of thought.
  • noun The moral stance, political philosophy, or social outlook that promotes independence and self-reliance of individual people, while opposing the interference with each person's choices by society, the state, or any other group or institution.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the doctrine that government should not interfere in commercial affairs
  • noun a belief in the importance of the individual and the virtue of self-reliance and personal independence
  • noun the quality of being individual

Etymologies

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