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: She identifies as transgender.

   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. the current entry

transgender

/ ˌtrænzˈdʒɛndə /

adjective

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

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The term transgender has largely replaced the older term transsexual, which is now considered outdated, though some people within the community continue to identify with the word transsexual, especially older people.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

Derived Forms

• ˌtransˈgendered, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of transgender¹

First recorded in 1970–75; trans- none + gender ¹none

Example Sentences

We are sad, but we are also angry and not powerless because we will fight to ensure that no other transgender woman has to suffer the agony that you suffered and that deprived you of your hopeful smile.

From Washington Blade

Put differently, the Constitution does not require Idaho to provide the special treatment Plaintiffs request, under which biological males are allowed to compete against biological females if and only if the biological males are transgender.

From Washington Blade

The Torch Awards recognize achievements and honor individuals whose work has impacted the lives of transgender and gender nonconforming people across the nation.

From Washington Blade

Young transgender actor Evie Macdonald stars as Hannah Bradford who is attending school for the first time as a girl and finding the courage to live as her most authentic self.

From Washington Blade

This series, which began in May, is designed to help employ transgender people, who statistically face a higher rate of unemployment than anyone else is the LGBTQ community due to workplace discrimination.

From Washington Blade

He loves the fact that, like on Grindr, users can identify as transgender.

From The Daily Beast

He identifies as transgender on Scruff but not always on Grindr.

From The Daily Beast

Your death is a tragic bookend to a year touted as the “transgender tipping point.”

From The Daily Beast

Through Weirich, she also met her wife Alice Levine, also a transgender woman.

From The Daily Beast

And as bad as it might be for gay or lesbian people, the discrimination is markedly worse for transgender people.

From The Daily Beast