Origin: Latin suffix -al
Individual has 8 different meanings across 2 categories:
a single organism
"The biologist carefully counted each individual fish in the coral reef to estimate the population size."
A person considered alone, rather than as belonging to a group of people.
"The teacher praised each individual student for their unique contribution to the class project."
In plain English: An individual is just one single person considered by themselves rather than as part of a group.
"The individual student was praised for their hard work on the project."
Usage: Use "individual" as a noun when referring to a single person distinct from others or a group. Avoid using it to mean "personal" or "private," which are adjectives describing feelings or matters.
being or characteristic of a single thing or person
"individual drops of rain"
"please mark the individual pages"
"they went their individual ways"
separate and distinct from others of the same kind
"mark the individual pages"
"on a case-by-case basis"
characteristic of or meant for a single person or thing
"an individual serving"
"single occupancy"
"a single bed"
concerning one person exclusively
"we all have individual cars"
"each room has a private bath"
Relating to a single person or thing as opposed to more than one.
"The individual tree in the dense forest stood alone against the wind, distinct from the surrounding canopy."
In plain English: Individual describes something that belongs to or affects just one specific person rather than a group.
"Every individual student received a certificate for their hard work."
Usage: Use "individual" as an adjective to emphasize that something concerns a single person or item rather than a group. It often appears before nouns like "individual rights" or "individual needs" to highlight personal distinction.
The word "individual" comes from Medieval Latin indīviduālis, which originally meant "an indivisible thing." It is derived from the Latin root for "divide," combining a negative prefix with the verb to divide.