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.

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The term transgender has largely replaced the older term transsexual, which is now considered outdated, though some people within the community continue to identify with the word transsexual, especially older people.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

Other Word Forms

• transgendered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of transgender¹

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

Example Sentences

The longtime labor-and-delivery nurse and mother of three teenagers — one of them transgender — keeps a grueling hospital schedule.

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Britain's Andrea Thompson has been crowned world's strongest woman after it transpired the original winner was a transgender woman who was not eligible to compete.

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He said his life had been "made hell" by transgender activists and journalists because of his views about gender identity.

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The demands included bans on diversity programs, public demonstrations across much of the campus and provisions for transgender students.

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She made sweeping changes towards inclusivity, allowing transgender women, married women and women with children to participate.

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