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I'm looking for a word with a positive undertone to describe a teenager who does her own thing and doesn't cave in to peer pressure. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Question edited 1/30/16. Someone marked this question as a duplicate, but I think the other question is quite different from the one already posted. The other question is asking about a single word to describe someone who doesn't follow the crowd for the single purpose of being contrary. A contrary state of mind has nothing to do with what I'm looking for. I'm writing a recommendation for a teenager who is polite, independent, confident, and doesn't follow the crowd... NOT out of a sense of being different for the sake of being different, and not because she's ornery and contrary, but because she's her own person, and not swayed by what the other teens are doing. Can we re-open this discussion?

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    Well then I guess "lost" and "disoriented" are out.
    – Hot Licks
    Jan 29, 2016 at 19:23
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    Related:english.stackexchange.com/q/70526/17956
    – Jim
    Jan 29, 2016 at 19:30
  • What about a leader?
    – NVZ ♦
    Jan 29, 2016 at 20:11
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    @NVZ I know that you mean "leader" as opposed to "follower" but then again, leaders don't really "do their own thing" considering that other people follow them.
    – Patrick Roberts
    Jan 29, 2016 at 20:14
  • Agreed regarding "leader." The girl I'm trying to describe doesn't necessarily have others following her. She just follows the beat of her own drum!
    – Libby
    Jan 29, 2016 at 20:17

10 Answers 10

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In one word "independent", in two "independent minded".

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  • A side note for using "independent" as a noun (i.e. "John is an independent"): In the US, an independent is someone who is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. Depending on context and audience, that connotation is something to be aware of.
    – anon
    Jan 30, 2016 at 0:44
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Consider Maverick:

A person who shows independence of thought and action, especially by refusing to adhere to the policies of a group to which he or she belongs. (TFD)

a person who refuses to follow the customs or rules of a group (M-W)

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  • Maverick won't work because the person is more low-key and usually operates under the radar.
    – Libby
    Jan 29, 2016 at 20:05
  • @Libby That's often the case, but a maverick isn't always flashy... sometimes only one's friends or family know about a maverick's tendencies.
    – Nathaniel is protesting
    Jan 30, 2016 at 2:26
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lone wolf

a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs

On the link, there are many good synonyms as well, including "counterculturist", and "individualist".

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free spirit

Google Definition:

noun

an independent or uninhibited person.

It's synonymous with nonconformist, but IMO it doesn't have the rebel without a cause undertone.

Google definition:

noun

a person who does not conform to prevailing ideas or practices in their behaviour or views.

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    Also free thinker
    – Jim
    Jan 29, 2016 at 19:49
  • Free thinker is close to what I'm looking for. I may have to use more than a single word! Thank you.
    – Libby
    Jan 29, 2016 at 20:03
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How about nonconformist? Or independent-minded?

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    Could you add dictionary entries to back this up?
    – anon
    Jan 30, 2016 at 0:40
  • Even rebel, no ? "What is a rebel? A man who says no" [Albert Camus The Rebel] "To be a rebel is not to be a revolutionary. It is more often but a way of spinning one's wheels deeper in the sand" [Kate Millett Sexual Politics] "No one can go on being a rebel too long without turning into an autocrat" [Lawrence Durrell Balthazar]
    – Baiwir
    Jan 30, 2016 at 9:11
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    Please explain why either of these options is useful. Remember: you're answering for people who don't know the answer.
    – Matt E. Эллен
    Jan 30, 2016 at 12:48
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"Independent-minded" fits, but not "independent" because that could mean she doesn't work well with others. Is she "self-actualized"?

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One possibility is self-confident:

Confidence is a feeling of trust in someone or something. To be self-confident is to have confidence in yourself. Self-confident people don't doubt themselves. This is usually a positive word: you can be self-confident without being cocky, arrogant, or overconfident. If you know what you’re doing, you have every reason to be self-confident.
Vocabulary.com

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eagle-spirited

He was the most dedicated, eagle-spirited, student-encouraging and highly moraled man there. Tributes

spirited: having a specified mood, disposition, or nature (used in combination): high-spirited; mean-spirited. Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary

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Try radical or contrarian, independent thinker who rejects majority opinion.

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    This might be a good answer if you could provide definitions and their source, which is what ELU generally wants.
    – Xanne
    Apr 18, 2017 at 7:08
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Iconoclast a destroyer of images used in religious worship, in particular

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    Did you, perhaps, accidentally post this answer on the wrong question? This question has nothing to do with destruction or religion.
    – Scott - Слава Україні
    May 29, 2017 at 6:11
  • @Scott that is highly unfair. You should look up the alternative definitions of the word. It is not exclusively applied to religion.
    – Shelby Moore III
    Sep 19, 2018 at 21:32

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