contrarian
noun
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Anyone who thinks that most of what the public believes is wrong would be called a contrarian. And contrarian is a basic term in the vocabulary of investing. In fact, most successful investors often behave like contrarians by "buying low and selling high"—that is, buying stocks that are cheap because most investors put a low value on them but that have the possibility of rising, and selling stocks that most investors are valuing highly but that seem likely to decline. The word may be most common as an adjective; so you may express a contrarian opinion, hold a contrarian view, or pursue a contrarian investment strategy.
Examples of contrarian in a Sentence
Sherry Kuehl, Kansas City Star, 25 June 2025
Your contrarian takes demonstrate independent thinking that can't be faked or prompted into existence.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
While the previous vetting process for new ACIP members took up to two years, Kennedy announced eight new members to the committee just two days later, several of whom are public health contrarians, anti-vaccine advocates, and appear to have conflicts of interest.
—ArsTechnica, 17 June 2025
These new appointees can also be described, more succinctly, as a COVID contrarian who has questioned the worth of vaccines.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for contrarian
Cite this Entry
“Contrarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contrarian. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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