contrarian

noun

con·​trar·​i·​an kən-ˈtrer-ē-ən 

kän-

: a person who takes a contrary position or attitude

specifically : an investor who buys shares of stock when most others are selling and sells when others are buying

contrarian adjective

contrarianism

kən-ˈtrer-ē-ə-ˌniz-əm 

kän-

noun

Did you know?

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

As an investor, he's a contrarian, preferring to buy stocks when most people are selling.

Recent Examples on the Web

Her Times columns drew buzz for views that often appeared contrarian on its left-leaning opinion pages. —Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2025

As contrarians, we’re intrigued. —Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025

And the people Kennedy has chosen to oversee vaccine policy and sit on the CDC’s vaccine-advisory commitee—COVID contrarians and vocally anti-vaccine researchers—are making the U.S. a highly unappealing market for all vaccine makers, experts told me. —Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2025

Well, my parents were very conservative, churchgoing folk, and I was born a contrarian. —Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 25 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

contr(ary) entry 2 + -arian

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for contrarian

• agrarian
• aquarian
• barbarian
• bavarian
• bulgarian
• cimmerian
• hungarian
• librarian
• ovarian
• riparian
• rotarian
• sectarian