transgender

[ trans-jen-der, tranz‐ ]

adjective
  1. noting or relating to a person whose gender identity does not correspond to that person’s sex assigned at birth: The organization supports transgender rights. She identifies as transgender.

  2. noting or relating to a person who does not conform to societal gender norms or roles.

noun
  1. Usually Offensive. a person who is transgender.: See Usage note at the current entry

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Origin of transgender

1
First recorded in 1970–75; trans- + gender1

usage note For transgender

The term transgender has largely replaced the older term transsexual, which is now considered outdated, though some people within the community continue to identify with the word transsexual, especially older people.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.

Words Nearby transgender

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use transgender in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for transgender

transgender

/ (ˌtrænzˈdʒɛndə) /


adjective
  1. of or relating to a person who wants to belong to the opposite sex

Derived forms of transgender

  • transgendered, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012