Meaning of contrarian | Babel Free

Definitions

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.
2. A financial investor who tends to have an opinion of market trends at variance with most others.

Equivalents

Examples

“Christopher [Hitchens] is bored by the epithet contrarian, which has been trailing him around for a quarter of a century. What he is, in any case, is an autocontrarian: he seeks not just the most difficult position, but the most difficult position for Christopher Hitchens.”

“[Søren] Kierkegaard had no university career, and [Friedrich] Nietzsche was a professor of Greek and Roman philology who had to retire⟳ because of ill health. Both were individualists, and both were contrarians by nature, dedicated to making people uncomfortable.”

“Hello, he lied / Like⟳ velvet, this magician's sleight of tongue and hand / Hello, he lied / Beware, belie his smile⟳ / As warm and calculated as heroin / Beware the contrarian”

“[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.”

CEFR level