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

Versions with and without the hyphen have been used in the past, but a 1960 Privy Council announcement used the hyphenated version, which will be used from now on.

From BBC • Nov. 11, 2025

Such hyphenated Americans, he said, felt a “degree of accepted and reasonable pride,” and had succeeded in connecting “their heritage to their mother country” and also to “where they are now” in America.

From Salon • Aug. 17, 2024

Some of the droves who looked up “gaslighting” this year might have wanted to know, simply, if it’s one or two words, or whether it’s hyphenated.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 27, 2022

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

However, Geronimo was hyphenated at a line break, so Gero appeared on one line and nimo on the next, and unfortunately, Mr. Fairbain read it as Jair-oh-NEEM-oh.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg