DictionaryAI

contrarian

Saykuhn-TRAIR-ee-uhn/kənˈtɹɛ.ɹi.ən/UK/kənˈtɹɛə.ɹi.ən/

Noun pluralcontrarians

2 meanings of contrarian

Practice

  1. 1
    disagreeing attitudeadjective
    Taking or tending to take a view opposed to that of most people, especially, in investing, going against prevailing market trends.

    The essay takes a contrarian position on the value of homework.

    Her contrarian streak made her question every rule her teachers set.

    UsageCommon before nouns like view, position and streak: a contrarian take.

    Similarcontrary, dissenting, iconoclastic, nonconformist

    Oppositeconformist, conventional, mainstream

    Note

    The adjective is gentler than the noun for the habitual objector: a contrarian position or argument can be a minority case made in good faith, while calling someone a contrarian hints at spite or a wish to stand apart. It can also describe ordinary resistance, as when a teenager's contrarian behavior wears on the adults around them.

  2. 2
    nouncountable
    A person who takes the opposing view to most people, especially an investor who goes against prevailing market trends.

    A born contrarian, she defended the unpopular candidate just to annoy the room.

    The columnist built a career as a contrarian, praising whatever her readers hated.

    Similardissenter, maverick, nonconformist, iconoclast

    Oppositeconformist

    Note

    The word was built from contrary on the pattern of libertarian, and it names a temperament more than a single opinion: Sarah Bakewell, in At the Existentialist Café (2016), calls Kierkegaard and Nietzsche contrarians by nature. Martin Amis wrote in 2011 that Christopher Hitchens was bored by the epithet and was really an autocontrarian, seeking the most difficult position.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Contrarian was formed from contrary on the pattern of libertarian. en.wiktionary.org
    • Sarah Bakewell wrote At the Existentialist Café, first published in 2016. fabian.ca
    • In that book, Bakewell describes Kierkegaard and Nietzsche as contrarians by nature. fabian.ca
    • In 2011, Martin Amis described Hitchens as bored with the epithet contrarian and as an autocontrarian seeking the most difficult position. en.wiktionary.org

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Origin

Formed from contrary + -ian (a variant of the suffix -an), modelled on words like libertarian.

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts