INDIVIDUAL Synonyms: 142 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'individual' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of individual are especial , particular , special , and specific . While all these words mean "of or relating to one thing or class," individual implies unequivocal reference to one of a class or group. // valued each individual opinion

Q: Where would 'especial' be a reasonable alternative to 'individual'?

The words especial and individual can be used in similar contexts, but especial may add implications of preeminence or preference. // a matter of especial importance

Q: When would 'particular' be a good substitute for 'individual'?

The words particular and individual are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, particular stresses the distinctness of something as an individual. // a ballet step of particular difficulty

Q: When is 'special' a more appropriate choice than 'individual'?

The synonyms special and individual are sometimes interchangeable, but special stresses having a quality, character, identity, or use of its own. // special ingredients

Q: When could 'specific' be used to replace 'individual'?

While in some cases nearly identical to individual , specific implies a quality or character distinguishing a kind or a species. // children with specific nutritional needs

individual 1 of 2

noun

Definition of individual

as in person

a member of the human race every individual has value

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in entity

one that has a real and independent existence our general concept of what constitutes a chair is based on our experience with many individuals that were called chairs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

nonentity

individual

2 of 2

adjective

ˌin-də-ˈvi-jə-wəl

as in subjective

of, relating to, or belonging to a single person everyone has his or her own individual opinion about the subject, but you will have to work together

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in separate

not the same or shared guest rooms at the inn have individual bathrooms

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in characteristic

serving to identify as belonging to an individual or group he's got a highly individual laugh that I would know anywhere

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective individual differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of individual are especial, particular, special, and specific. While all these words mean "of or relating to one thing or class," individual implies unequivocal reference to one of a class or group.

valued each individual opinion

Where would especial be a reasonable alternative to individual?

The words especial and individual can be used in similar contexts, but especial may add implications of preeminence or preference.

a matter of especial importance

When would particular be a good substitute for individual?

The words particular and individual are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, particular stresses the distinctness of something as an individual.

a ballet step of particular difficulty

When is special a more appropriate choice than individual?

The synonyms special and individual are sometimes interchangeable, but special stresses having a quality, character, identity, or use of its own.

special ingredients

When could specific be used to replace individual?

While in some cases nearly identical to individual, specific implies a quality or character distinguishing a kind or a species.

children with specific nutritional needs

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of individual

Noun

The agency received 163,459 permit applications last year from 14,996 individuals. — Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026 Tellado, who appeared to know Rivera and the other individual, was taken to a hospital and was pronounced dead. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2026

Adjective

Blow-dry the front sections away from the face to create the characteristic roundness and make the individual layers visible. — Lucy Binder, Glamour, 30 Aug. 2026 The individual sensibilities of people who directed them were subordinated to dictates of the franchise. — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for individual

Recent Examples of Synonyms for individual

Noun

Its movements and squeaks change in response to the person interacting with it, giving caregivers another way to reduce distress and encourage engagement.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
Dramatic video showed the rescue of one such person as authorities from Nepal worked to drag the man out of the mud deluge.

— Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of person

Adjective

Instead, detectives say the group used falsified invoices and documents and transferred cash into personal bank accounts.

— Chelsea Jones, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
For an undergraduate student living off campus, Detroit Mercy estimates $3,220 for transportation and $10,830 for personal and miscellaneous expenses.

— Adrienne Roberts, Freep.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of personal

Adjective

Trump does not appear anywhere else on the website, aside from a list of endorsements that previously appeared on the homepage but has been moved to a separate page.

— Steve Peoples, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
Luiz understands that aspect, too, acknowledging that Sporting KC needed him four separate times during Thursday’s news conference.

— Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of separate

Adjective

While cognitive decline is far more common among individuals over 65 years, some genetic mutations cause the same characteristic loss of memory and mental processing in children.

— Mike McRae August 26, New Atlas, 26 Aug. 2026
But the link was far less clear between dementia and lower stages of CTE, or even those whose brains had been found to be free of the disease's characteristic buildups of tau protein.

— Becky Sullivan, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of characteristic

Noun

In both women and men with class III obesity, defined as a BMI of 40 or higher, there was no statistically significant difference in mortality risk.

— Faye Chiu, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
Still, the archetypal influencer in our cultural imagination is not a man reviewing watches on YouTube or hosting a podcast from his studio in Austin.

— Laura Jung, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of man

Noun

Rimac said customizations and one-offs reflect a growing desire among today’s wealthy to have unique objects that reflect their identity.

— Robert Frank, CNBC, 25 Aug. 2026
Image features range from generation and upscaling to background replacement, object removal, face swapping, and sketch-to-image conversion.

— StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of object

Adjective

Now, to be clear, nightclubs like Basement have a longstanding subjective — and often nebulous — criteria for who gets in, and anyone dorky enough to show up to one wearing Meta glasses almost certainly wouldn’t make the cut anyway.

— Frank Landymore, Futurism, 27 Aug. 2026
Allowing subjective confidence to silently acquire the epistemological status of empirical verification is neither verification nor evidence.

— Hamilton Mann, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of subjective

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inditing

individual

individualism

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“Individual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/individual. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of individual

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adjective

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