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Definition of "individualism" []

  • 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)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "individualism" in a sentence
  • "We seem to be standing up for corporate profit, but defending our individualism is the straw man."
  • "Indeed, just as Tocqueville had to coin the term individualism to describe the unique way he observed Americans relating to one another in society, he also invented a concept that he called "the principle of interest rightly understood" to describe Americans 'moral code."
  • "They have treated students as members of competing racial groups rather than individuals, claiming that "individualism" is a form of "cultural racism.""