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The Collaborative International Dictionary
contrarian

contrarian \con*tra"ri*an\, a. [LL. contrarians, p. pr. of contrariare to oppose, fr. L. contrarius: cf. F. contrariant, p. pr. of contrarier to contradict. See Contrary.] taking an opposing view, especially a view opposite to that taken by the majority.

contrarian

contrarian \con*tra"ri*an\, n. [see contrarian, a..] a person who habitually takes a view opposite to that held by the majority; as, the contrarians in the stock market prefer to sell when most analysts advise us to buy.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
contrarian

1963, from contrary + -ian.\n\nTo be in opposition is not to be a nihilist. And there is no decent or charted way of making a living at it. It is something you are, and not something you do.

[Christopher Hitchens, "Letters to a Young Contrarian," 2001]

Wiktionary
contrarian

n. 1 a person who expresses a contradicting viewpoint, especially one who denounces the majority persuasion 2 (context finance English) a financial investor who tends to have an opinion of market trends at variance with most others

WordNet
contrarian

n. an investor who deliberately decides to go against the prevailing wisdom of other investors

Wikipedia
Contrarian

A contrarian is a person who takes up a contrary position, especially a position that is opposed to that of the majority, regardless of how unpopular it may be.

Usage examples of "contrarian".

I am proud to say that even early on I was a contrarian, and Beatlemania did not affect me.

The spectators began jumping up and down and screaming for blood—and, being contrarians, the elephants attacked the spectators instead of the Jews, proving once and for all that you can’t trust a pachyderm.

The spectators began jumping up and down and screaming for blood–and, being contrarians, the elephants attacked the spectators instead of the Jews, proving once and for all that you can’t trust a pachyderm.

Even the contrarians at Interpol, the international clearinghouse for police information, agreed with us.