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I'm looking for a noun to describe someone who's against something. For example:

He's one of those people who oppose the idea of...

I know you can simply say "He's against the idea of", but I was wondering if there was any noun that I could use in this particular scenario. I thought about simply using the word opponent but isn't it more suitable in perhaps a competitive game context?

user1255410
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    History might prove them to be either a heretic or a pioneer. – Nigel J Mar 20 '18 at 11:39
  • Related: https://english.stackexchange.com/q/79125/14666 – Kris Mar 20 '18 at 11:55
  • Please clarify whether this person is in a minority and also whether they are routinely 'against' things (as a matter of habit/principle). – Dan Mar 20 '18 at 12:00
  • 'Dissenter', 'non-conformist', 'contrarian' and 'maverick' have all been suggested at the linked thread. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 20 '18 at 12:08
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    @Edwin Ashworth - too quick close vote as usual. Not a duplicate, suggested context and implications are different. VTR – user 66974 Mar 20 '18 at 12:08
  • @user2922582 I waited until I saw a reasonable numbers of answers. They tend to be applicable to the 'habitual' aspect, rather than precisely the one-off. And there are no appropriate new offerings. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 20 '18 at 12:22
  • @EdwinAshworth - apart from maverick I don’t see other overlaps with the older questions, which looks similar but calls for different answers. – user 66974 Mar 20 '18 at 12:26
  • @user2922582 Only 'dissenter' has been removed; the other answers are still quite obvious to all. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 20 '18 at 12:32
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    @EdwinAshworth - the are two different questions, CV should be used judiciously. Anyway OP could at least receive a few helpful answers here. – user 66974 Mar 20 '18 at 12:35
  • “Independent ”. – ctrl-alt-delor Mar 20 '18 at 13:38
  • I'm looking for something to use in just this one particular instance where someone takes an opposed view instead of an overall character trait. – user1255410 Mar 20 '18 at 14:35
  • In that case, edit the question to focus on the instance and not the persona. With respect to the event, he has dissented. Your sample phrase is misleading. One of those people implies this is a persona description, not a depiction from the point of view of the event. – Phil Sweet Mar 20 '18 at 14:45
  • If the idea is really mainstream, you could consider Denier. – Chris Wohlert Mar 20 '18 at 14:47

4 Answers4

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I think contrarian may fit in the context you describe:

a person who takes an opposing view, especially one who rejects the majority opinion, as in economic matters.

  • He is a contrarian who frequently writes controversial opinion pieces.

(Dictionary.com)

From Etymonline contrarian:

Latin contrarius (adj.) also was used as a noun meaning "an opponent, an antagonist." In English history, contrariant (from French, from Medieval Latin contrariantem) was the name given to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, and the barons who took part with him in the rebellion against Edward II, "because, on account of their great power, it was not expedient to call them rebels or traitors" [Century Dictionary].

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user 66974
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  • ‘The writer who has most often and most powerfully made the arguments within the establishment but against its preoccupations is Christopher Hitchens, a man who adores contrarians throughout history.’ https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/contrarian – Kris Mar 20 '18 at 12:03
  • i think a contrarian, does it as a sort of hobby, I may be totally wrong but urban dictionary agrees with me Someone who automatically tends to take the opposite point of view from the person to whom they're speaking, or to disagree with society at large out of a sort of knee-jerk reflex. Friend: I've got some ice cream, you want vanilla or chocolate? Contrarian: Um, do you have strawberry? – WendyG Mar 20 '18 at 13:47
  • I like this answer a lot, although as others have suggested it seems habitual. A one-off is what I was originally going for. – user1255410 Mar 20 '18 at 14:33
2

Depending on the context, you could use different options:

noe
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I very much like user2922582's answer.

Also maybe:

noncomformist (meaning is evident)

bohemian (has artistic overtones)

bohemian (usually lowercase) a person, as an artist or writer, who lives and acts free of regard for conventional rules and practices.

social gadfly (has political overtones)

A gadfly is a person who interferes with the status quo of a society or community by posing novel, potently upsetting questions, usually directed at authorities. source: Wikipedia.

Zebrafish
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Maverick might be a positive ish name:

a person who thinks and acts in an independent way, often behaving differently from the expected or usual way:

  • a political maverick He was considered as something of a maverick in the publishing world.

(Cambridge Dictionary)

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chrism
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