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Individual vs Subject - What's the difference?

individual | subject |

As nouns the difference between individual and subject

is that individual is a person considered alone, rather than as belonging to a group of people while subject is in a clause: the word or word group (usually a noun phrase) that is dealt with. In active clauses with verbs denoting an action, the subject and the actor are usually the same.

As adjectives the difference between individual and subject

is that individual is relating to a single person or thing as opposed to more than one while subject is likely to be affected by or to experience something.

As a verb subject is

to cause (someone or something) to undergo a particular experience, especially one that is unpleasant or unwanted.

individual

English

Alternative forms

* individuall (obsolete)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A person considered alone, rather than as belonging to a group of people.
  • (legal) A single physical human being as a legal subject, as opposed to a legal person such as a corporation.
  • * 1982 , Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms :
  • Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination […].
  • An object, be it a thing or an agent, as contrasted to a class.
  • * {{quote-book, year=2006, chapter=Identity and Individuality in Quantum Theory, title=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, author=Steven French citation
  • , passage=It is typically held that chairs, trees, rocks, people and many of the so-called ‘everyday’ objects we encounter can be regarded as individuals .}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Katrina G. Claw
  • , title= Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm , volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual .}}
  • (lb) An element belonging to a population.
  • Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Relating to a single person or thing as opposed to more than one.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-01, volume=407, issue=8838, page=71, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= End of the peer show , passage=Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.}}
  • Intended for a single person as opposed to more than one person.
  • Synonyms

    * (relating to a single person or thing) (l), (l) * (intended for a single person or thing) (l), (l)

    Antonyms

    * (relating to a single person or thing) (l) * (intended for a single person or thing) (l), (l), (l)

    Statistics

    * ----

    subject

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Likely to be affected by or to experience something.
  • a country subject to extreme heat
  • * Dryden
  • All human things are subject to decay.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= T time , passage=The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them
  • Conditional upon.
  • Placed or situated under; lying below, or in a lower situation.
  • (Spenser)
  • Placed under the power of another; owing allegiance to a particular sovereign or state.
  • * John Locke
  • Esau was never subject to Jacob.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (label) In a clause: the word or word group (usually a noun phrase) that is dealt with. In active clauses with verbs denoting an action, the subject and the actor are usually the same.
  • The main topic of a paper, work of art, discussion, field of study, etc.
  • * (John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • the subject for heroic song
  • * (John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • Make choice of a subject , beautiful and noble, which shall afford an ample field of matter wherein to expatiate.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • the unhappy subject of these quarrels
  • * {{quote-book, year=1905, author=
  • , title= , chapter=5 citation , passage=Then I had a good think on the subject of the hocussing of Cigarette, and I was reluctantly bound to admit that once again the man in the corner had found the only possible solution to the mystery.}}
  • *{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers)
  • , chapter=5, title= A Cuckoo in the Nest , passage=The departure was not unduly prolonged.
  • A particular area of study.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2014-06-14, volume=411, issue=8891, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= It's a gas , passage=One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains.
  • A citizen in a monarchy.
  • A person ruled over by another, especially a monarch or state authority.
  • (label) The main theme or melody, especially in a fugue.
  • * (1823-1895)
  • The earliest known form of subject is the ecclesiastical cantus firmus , or plain song.
  • A human, animal or an inanimate object that is being examined, treated, analysed, etc.
  • * (Conyers Middleton) (1683-1750)
  • Writers of particular livesare apt to be prejudiced in favour of their subject .
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Catherine Clabby
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= Focus on Everything , passage=Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. That’s because the lenses that are excellent at magnifying tiny subjects produce a narrow depth of field.}}

    Synonyms

    * (discussion) matter, topic

    Derived terms

    * subject title

    See also

    * object * predicate

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To cause (someone or something) to undergo a particular experience, especially one that is unpleasant or unwanted.
  • Synonyms

    *

    Statistics

    *