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
Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
That argument makes Caplan a contrarian not only to Trump, but to many conservatives who see protectionism as the answer to Rust Belt decline.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2025
Younger Republican voters and GOP contrarians are piping up to challenge the broad consensus in the Republican Party that has been in lockstep with policy on Israel.
—Kristina Karisch, The Hill, 19 Aug. 2025
Rather than responding to the bigger point, a contrarian will latch onto something more trivial, like how, technically, that leather jacket isn’t truly vintage, since the brand only launched in 2010.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 4 Aug. 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 10 Sep. 2025.
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