hyphenated

American  

[hahy-fuh-ney-tid] / ˈhaɪ fəˌneɪ tɪd /

adjective

Informal.

1. of, relating to, or designating a person, group, or organization of mixed origin or identity.

   an Irish-American club and other hyphenated organizations.

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hyphenated British  

/ ˈhaɪfəˌneɪtɪd /

adjective

1. containing or linked with a hyphen

2. having a nationality denoted by a hyphenated word, as in American-Irish

3. denoting something, such as a professional career, that consists of two elements, as in singer-songwriter

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Other Word Forms

• unhyphenated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of hyphenated

First recorded in 1890–95; hyphenate + -ed ²

Example Sentences

An Orange County election board staff member told her they suspected that process initially failed because her last name is now hyphenated.

From Salon • Feb. 1, 2025

To be an actor and a full-time parent and a full-time all those hyphenated titles — wife and daughter and community provider — is like serving in the military, I’ll tell you that.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2023

On Friday, Mr. Pence delivered an energetic and well-received speech that ticked through the accomplishments of what he called the “Trump-Pence” administration, mentioning Mr. Trump’s name only once and in that hyphenated context.

From New York Times • Nov. 20, 2022

According to her, the woman portrayed as a trickster "sums up our modern fragmented, hyphenated identities and multiple consciousnesses".

From BBC • Jun. 20, 2022

With a hyphenated surname, she would no longer fit into the window of a business envelope.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri