contrarian

noun

con·​trar·​i·​an kən-ˈtrer-ē-ən 

kän-

: a person who takes a contrary position or attitude

specifically : an investor who buys shares of stock when most others are selling and sells when others are buying

contrarian adjective

contrarianism

kən-ˈtrer-ē-ə-ˌniz-əm 

kän-

noun

Did you know?

Anyone who thinks that most of what the public believes is wrong would be called a contrarian. And contrarian is a basic term in the vocabulary of investing. In fact, most successful investors often behave like contrarians by "buying low and selling high"—that is, buying stocks that are cheap because most investors put a low value on them but that have the possibility of rising, and selling stocks that most investors are valuing highly but that seem likely to decline. The word may be most common as an adjective; so you may express a contrarian opinion, hold a contrarian view, or pursue a contrarian investment strategy.

Examples of contrarian in a Sentence

As an investor, he's a contrarian, preferring to buy stocks when most people are selling.

Recent Examples on the Web

Outside, a contrarian in a MAGA hat leaned against the glass, and the crowd, a mix of writers and artists, milled about, smoking. —Curbed Staff, Curbed, 6 Nov. 2024

The downgrade makes Raymond James something of a contrarian on Disney . —Lisa Kailai Han,fred Imbert, CNBC, 1 Oct. 2024

This is an entry point for savvy contrarians, and what’s happening here isn’t unique to GDV. —Michael Foster, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2024

Handelsblatt blamed his sacking on Wall Street’s penchant to outwardly admire contrarians for their strong convictions while simultaneously cultivating a repressive climate where swimming with the crowd is the safest bet for career advancement. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

contr(ary) entry 2 + -arian

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined above