Meaning & use
contrarianism
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The habit or attitude of disagreeing with what most people think, often just to be different.
Grammar: Uncountable, so no plural and no 'a' before it: 'Contrarianism can be useful.'
Patterns
- contrarianism about something
- a streak of contrarianism
- out of contrarianism
Her contrarianism made every meeting longer, because she questioned each proposal.
Some investors treat contrarianism as a strategy: they buy when everyone else is selling.
His contrarianism was not a principle but a personality trait.
noununcountablefinancebusiness
In investing, the practice of going against the market's mood, buying when others sell and selling when others buy.
Grammar: Used as a technical term in finance; often appears after 'a policy of' or 'a strategy of'.
Patterns
- a strategy of contrarianism
- contrarianism in the market
Contrarianism in the market means buying when prices are low and others are panicking.
Their fund is built on contrarianism rather than on following trends.
Common combinations
- a streak of contrarianism
- There is a streak of contrarianism in him that makes him doubt every popular idea.
- sheer contrarianism
- Out of sheer contrarianism, he refused to join the group's celebration.
- market contrarianism
- Market contrarianism is risky unless you have strong evidence for your view.
- accused of contrarianism
- The columnist was accused of contrarianism for praising an unpopular policy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nonconformity
- This means refusing to follow accepted customs or rules, which is broader and less focused on disagreeing with opinions.
- skepticism
- This is doubting claims in general, while contrarianism specifically means taking the opposite side from the majority.
Opposites
Word family
- contrarian noun
- A person who regularly disagrees with popular opinion.
- contrarian adjective
- Describing an idea or investor that goes against the majority view.
Commonly confused: contrarianism or contrary?
contrarianism vs contrary
'Contrary' is an adjective or noun meaning opposite or stubborn; 'contrarianism' is the attitude of habitually opposing the majority.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'contrarianism' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Contrarianism' is an uncountable noun for the habit of opposing majority opinion, so it fits as the subject of 'led him to question'. Option 0 is wrong because agreeing with everyone is the opposite of contrarianism; option 2 treats it as a countable document, and option 3 uses it as a verb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “contrarianism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.