Wiktionary

contrarian

See also: contrarían

English

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WOTD – 14 April 2025

Etymology

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From contrary +‎ -ian (a variant of -an (suffix forming agent nouns; and meaning of or pertaining to forming adjectives)), modelled after words like libertarian.[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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contrarian (plural contrarians)

  1. A person who likes or tends to express a contradicting viewpoint, especially from one held by a majority of people, usually because of nonconformity or spite. [from mid 20th c.]
    Antonym: (figurative) slipstreamer
  2. (finance) A financial investor who tends to have an opinion of market trends at variance with most others.
    • 2010, Michael C. Thomsett, “The Contrarian Approach to Trading”, in Getting Started in Stock Investing and Trading (Getting Started in …; 89), Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, part III (Combining Investing and Trading), page 174:
      [T]o succeed as a contrarian, you have to be able to time trades in exactly the opposite direction of the majority. This means you have to move in when everyone else is fearful, and step back when everyone else is euphoric. This advice is easier to give than to follow, so contrarians are not just good at timing. They also are highly disciplined and able to set and follow rules for themselves that fly in the face of what the majority thinks.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Adjective

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contrarian (comparative more contrarian, superlative most contrarian)

  1. Liking or tending to express a contradicting viewpoint, especially from one held by a majority of people. [from late 20th c.]
    • 2005, Larry [P.] Nucci, “Preface”, in Larry Nucci, editor, Conflict, Contradiction, and Contrarian Elements in Moral Development and Education, Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, →ISBN, page viii:
      The second part [of the book] explores the normative forms of adolescent resistance and contrarian behavior that vex parents and teachers alike. This discussion is within the context of chapters that look at the ways in which parenting and teaching for moral development can positively make use of these normative challenges.
    • 2013, Phillip Lopate, “Modesty and Assertion”, in To Show and to Tell: The Craft of Literary Nonfiction, New York, N.Y.: Free Press, →ISBN:
      I began with the problem that I did not have enough confidence in what I had to say. Then I discovered that there could never be a single "I" who could speak for me, I could only communicate an aspect of myself: sometimes more friendly, sometimes more contrarian.
  2. (finance) Having an opinion of market trends at variance with most others.
    • 2012, Ning Tang, Olivia S. Mitchell, Stephen P. Utkus, “Trading in 401(k) Plans during the Financial Crisis”, in Raimond Maurer, Olivia S. Mitchell, Mark J. Warshawsky, editors, Reshaping Retirement Security: Lessons from the Global Financial Crisis, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, part II (Rethinking the Resilience of Defined Contribution Plans), page 115:
      Yet at the same time, 401(k) traders became more contrarian in their response to falling markets during the crisis. Therefore, the increased sensitivity to market volatility was offset, in part, by a tendency to 'buy on the dips' in response to falling markets.

Translations

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References

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  1. ^ Compare “contrarian, n. and adj.”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2023; “contrarian, n. and adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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