contrarian

[kuhn-trair-ee-uhn] / kənˈtrɛər i ən /

NOUN

one who takes an opposing view

Synonyms

STRONG

antagonist

WEAK

adversary debater opponent

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I have reliably poor instincts about that sort of thing, so this will be a valuable contrarian signal.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Citadel said that retail investors are increasingly contrarian by nature, and the recent selling during rallies supports this.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

The U.S. stock-market correction has more downside ahead, according to contrarian analysts.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

The results show that the standard contrarian rebalancing strategy of selling winners and buying losers holds up well over time, but we are in anything but ordinary times.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

Given that there is some rough economic estimate of a stock’s value, regression to the mean can sometimes be used to justify a kind of contrarian strategy.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos