# contrarian

Pronunciation: say "kuhn-TRAIR-ee-uhn" US /kənˈtɹɛ.ɹi.ən/, UK /kənˈtɹɛə.ɹi.ən/

## Adjective

1. Taking or tending to take a view opposed to that of most people, especially, in investing, going against prevailing market trends.
   - Simple: Going against what most people think or do, such as buying what most investors are selling.
   - _The essay takes a contrarian position on the value of homework._
   - _Her contrarian streak made her question every rule her teachers set._

## Noun

2. A person who takes the opposing view to most people, especially an investor who goes against prevailing market trends.
   - Simple: Someone who goes against what most people think, such as an investor who buys what others sell.
   - _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._

## Origin

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

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/contrarian (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).