# Word for "one-of-a-kind person" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 26, 2022, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186 "2022-05-26T23:17:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/1 "2022-05-26T23:17:37Z")
This is bugging the crap out of me, and Google ain’t helping. I’m trying to think of a particular word for a person who is one-of-a-kind, who perhaps stands out against all others in their field (perhaps in an idiosyncratic way), and I just can’t come up with it. Perhaps it even has a rebellious connotation to it as well, but I’m not sure, as I can’t think of the damned word. “Iconoclast” leapt to mind, but that’s a bit of a different thing. I hope the word I’m thinking of exists. It is not impossible I’m thinking of a word I made up in my head. It’s a word that’s a bit of an “SAT”-type word. So it’s not something like “maverick” (which doesn’t exactly fit my definition.) Oh, help dear Dope before this question consumes me. What word can I be thinking of? ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/2 "2022-05-26T23:19:34Z")
Outlier? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/3 "2022-05-26T23:19:35Z")
[**Sui generis**](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/sui-generis) ?? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/4 "2022-05-26T23:20:54Z")
Hmmm … that may be it, but I feel like there’s another word. That’s definitely a word I’m familiar with, so it could be what I’m thinking of. I’ll see if there are any other suggestions, but so far, this is most likely it. I _thought_ I was thinking of a single word, but this fits the concept perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/5 "2022-05-26T23:27:01Z")
Prodigy? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/6 "2022-05-26T23:32:03Z")
Higher diction than that, like on sui generis level or maybe a level lower. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/7 "2022-05-26T23:37:35Z")
Guess-the-word, is it? nonpareil ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/8 "2022-05-26T23:42:44Z")
[**Paragon**](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paragon) ?? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/9 "2022-05-27T00:31:52Z")
At this point, I’m guessing the word I’m thinking of is most likely sui generis, although I thought I was looking for a noun. Nonpareil checks all the boxes in terms of meaning and diction, and it was recently in the New York Times crossword, but I know that wasn’t the word. So I’ll just give the gold star to **DavidNRockies** and a silver star to **DPRK**. Fun word to be reminded of, as I usually think of nonpareils as a fancy word for those small ball-shaped sprinkles you put on cookies or pastries, but always forget the other meaning. I don’t need the word for anything I’m writing, it’s just something that popped into my head and has been scratching at me all day. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/10 "2022-05-27T00:40:19Z")
There’s also nonesuch (the english version of nonpareil) cynosure apotheosis quintessence beau ideal ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/11 "2022-05-27T00:44:37Z")
Yeah, I came up with all of those in the thesaurus. Sui generis is most likely the word my brain was trying to think of. And now, for the life of me, I can’t remember why I was trying to think of that word. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/12 "2022-05-27T03:55:56Z")
Maverick? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/13 "2022-05-27T03:58:34Z")
Mensch? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/14 "2022-05-27T04:04:13Z")
Ach. Ruled out in the op. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/15 "2022-05-27T04:06:25Z")
Exemplar? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/16 "2022-05-27T10:42:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > “Iconoclast” leapt to mind, but that’s a bit of a different thing. Just “icon” ? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/17 "2022-05-27T13:17:41Z")
Nevermind, just reread the OP which made my point moot. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/18 "2022-05-27T13:32:00Z")
Premier, unmatched, unparalleled, and, in sports, GOAT (greatest of all time). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/19 "2022-05-27T14:50:09Z")
rara avis? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186/20 "2022-05-27T22:24:54Z")
While I did say “perhaps stands out” I didn’t mean in an exemplary way, as in being better than everyone else, but more so blazing their own trail, like a maverick, or just being quirky and idiosyncratic. That said, as I said above, I think my mind was making up a word that didn’t exist but was reaching for _sui generis_. If there was another word, it would have come up by now. (I mean, nonpareil is another word that fits really well, but I don’t come across that word enough for it to be the one I was thinking of.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-for-one-of-a-kind-person/965186.md?page=2)