transgender
Americanadjective
-
noting or relating to a person whose gender identity does not correspond to that person’s sex assigned at birth: She identifies as transgender.
The organization supports transgender rights.
She identifies as transgender.
-
noting or relating to a person who does not conform to societal gender norms or roles.
noun
adjective
Sensitive Note
The term transgender has largely replaced the older term transsexual, which is now considered outdated, though some people within the community continue to identify with the word transsexual, especially older people. Transgender is a less clinical term, referring more to gender identity and gender expression than to physical sex characteristics or sexual orientation. It is also a more general and inclusive term: a transgender person may be nonbinary, gender-fluid, genderqueer, third gender, etc. Use of transgender as a noun (One of my colleagues is a transgender ) is declining and is usually taken as offensive. And many people object to the adjectival variant transgendered (One of my colleagues is transgendered ) because the –ed suffix seems to imply that something happened to make the person transgender. See also trans, transsexual.
Other Word Forms
- transgendered adjective
Etymology
Origin of transgender
Compare meaning
How does transgender compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Department of Education has given San José State 10 days to comply with a list of demands after finding that the university violated Title IX concerning a transgender volleyball player in 2024.
From Los Angeles Times
The agreement was also welcomed by families of transgender kids beyond Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times
“This will not end with transgender kids,” said Kanan Durham, director of Pride at the Pier.
From Los Angeles Times
The success of the hyper-pop anthem made her the first openly transgender artist to win in a major category at the Grammy Awards.
From BBC
In Darlington, more than 80% of the nurses employed by the Trust were female and the tribunal was told of two transgender staff.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
