deindividuation

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noun

The situation where antinormative behaviour is released in groups in which individuals are not seen or paid attention to as individuals; immersion in a group to the point at which the individual ceases to be seen as such.

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Meanings

noundeindividuation (uncountable)
  1. uncountablehuman sciencesThe situation where antinormative behaviour is released in groups in which individuals are not seen or paid attention to as individuals; immersion in a group to the point at which the individual ceases to be seen as such.

    Digital media allow almost unlimited opportunity for wilful deindividuation. They almost require it. The implications of those liberties, of the ubiquity of anonymity and the language of the crowd, are only beginning to be felt.

    2011 July 23, Tim Adams, “How the internet created an age of rage”, in The Observer

Origin

From de- + individuation, first described in 1952 by Leon Festinger and colleagues.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

deindividuation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deindividuation

MLA

“deindividuation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deindividuation. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “deindividuation,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deindividuation.

Source: deindividuation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.