individuation.

The development or recognition of a separate individual identity.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• personal individuation
• process of individuation

On the page

The novel presents leaving home as a stage of individuation.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychology / human behavior. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural in this sense. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: character, interpretation. Commonness: moderately common.