as in maverick
a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs
an individualist who steadfastly refuses to do what everyone else is doing
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Recent Examples of individualist
Like the show that set the trend, most of these stories are premised on land conflicts between rugged individualists and voracious capitalist vultures: two quintessential American archetypes.
—
Judy Berman, Time, 4 Dec. 2025
New York City is full of remorseless individualists who nonetheless stick to some codes very rigidly.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2025
Yet, historians have noted that his rhetoric and policies play into the individualist and patriotic characteristics associated with the beloved Western cowboy.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
Based on actual events, Eden features a starry cast playing a disparate group of rugged individualists who all find themselves in the Galapagos in the early 20th century, each abandoning society in the hopes of creating a utopia.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for individualist
Judy Berman, Time, 4 Dec. 2025
New York City is full of remorseless individualists who nonetheless stick to some codes very rigidly.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2025
Yet, historians have noted that his rhetoric and policies play into the individualist and patriotic characteristics associated with the beloved Western cowboy.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
Based on actual events, Eden features a starry cast playing a disparate group of rugged individualists who all find themselves in the Galapagos in the early 20th century, each abandoning society in the hopes of creating a utopia.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for individualist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for individualist
Noun
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Tress’s approach during this period recalls that of his friend and mentor Duane Michals, another maverick.—
Vince Aletti,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
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An exhibition in Beijing delving into anonymity, a key code of the house stemming back to the founder Martin Margiela’s Greta Garbo-like ways — and the face-obscuring masks that have been a feature of the brand since the Belgian maverick arrived on the international fashion scene.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But, more intriguingly, the often shape-shifting iconoclast will be trying on what promises to be a new or at least evolved musical style.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
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The women in her stories feel profound, distinct uncertainty toward convention—less as iconoclasts than fierce individuals.—
Chloe Schama,
Vogue,
26 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Directed by Lynne Ramsay, the movie follows Joe (Joaquin Phoenix), an introverted loner who rescues women who find themselves in precarious positions.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Feb. 2026
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Thompson plays a grieving loner who gets lost near a Minnesota lake during a blizzard and stumbles on a cabin where a young woman is being held by an armed couple.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Individualist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/individualist. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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