Definition of Individual Discrimination
(noun) One individual discriminating against another individual.
Examples of Individual Discrimination
- A building manager will not rent an apartment to an interracial couple.
- A shop owner will not serve a transgendered individual.
Individual Discrimination Pronunciation
Syllabification: in·di·vid·u·al dis·crim·i·na·tion
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /in-duh-vIj-uh-wuhl di-skrim-uh-nAY-shuhn/
- British English – /in-di-vIj-uuhl dis-krim-i-nAY-shuhn/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˌɪndəˈvɪʤəwəl dɪˌskrɪməˈneɪʃən/
- British English – /ˌɪndɪˈvɪdjʊəl dɪsˌkrɪmɪˈneɪʃən/
Usage Notes
- Plural: individual discriminations
- Individual discrimination is contrasted to institutional discrimination.
Additional Information
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Ferrante, Joan. 2011a. Seeing Sociology: An Introduction. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Ferrante, Joan. 2011b. Sociology: A Global Perspective. 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Ferris, Kerry, and Jill Stein. 2010. The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology. 2nd ed. New York: Norton.
Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.
Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2012. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Cite the Definition of Individual Discrimination
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “individual discrimination.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved June 5, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/individual-discrimination/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
individual discrimination. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/individual-discrimination/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “individual discrimination.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed June 5, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/individual-discrimination/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“individual discrimination.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 5 Jun. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/individual-discrimination/>.