transvestite

American  

[trans-ves-tahyt, tranz-] / trænsˈvɛs taɪt, trænz- /

noun

• transvestites
  plural

1. Psychiatry. a person, especially someone assigned male at birth, who assumes the dress and manner usually associated with a different gender.

2. Older Use: Often Offensive. crossdresser. TV

---

adjective

1. Older Use: Often Offensive. being or relating to a person who wears clothing typically worn by members of a different gender.

transvestite British  

/ trænzˈvɛstaɪt /

noun

1. a person who seeks sexual pleasure from wearing clothes that are normally associated with the opposite sex

2. any cross-dresser See cross-dressing

---

transvestite Cultural  

1. Someone who dresses in the clothes usually worn by the opposite sex. Transvestites may be bisexual, heterosexual, or homosexual (see bisexuality, heterosexuality, and homosexuality).

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• transvestism
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• transvestites
  plural

Etymology

Origin of transvestite

First recorded in 1925–30; from German Transvestit; see transvestism, -ite ¹

Compare meaning

How does transvestite compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• drag queen vs. transvestite

Explanation

A man who identifies himself as a transvestite likes to wear clothing that is typically thought of as feminine or womanly. You can also use the word transvestite to talk about a woman who enjoys wearing men's clothes, although it more frequently describes a man. Before you call anyone a transvestite, however, make sure the person doesn't consider the word offensive — it's more common these days to use the term cross-dresser.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

transvestite transvestites

I am not gay, I am not straight, I am not a drag queen, I am not a transvestite, I am Jackie.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025

“Each position will be occupied by the best, most capable person, be it a man, a woman, a transvestite or anything else.”

From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2024

The German physician Magnus Hirschfeld coined the now antiquated term "transvestite" in 1910 to define those who desired to express themselves in opposition to their sex assigned at birth.

From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2022

"If I change it, I would erase myself as a transvestite."

From Reuters ● May 6, 2022

Young boy slowly falling under the influence of a decadent uncle who is a transvestite.

From Checklist A complete, cumulative Checklist of lesbian, variant and homosexual fiction, in English or available in English translation, with supplements of related material, for the use of collectors, students and librarians. by Marion Zimmer Bradley

In the 1930s, transgender people were called "transvestites," a term that is offensive today but at the time approximated what's now meant by "transgender."

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2023

Remember that transvestites and gay street people are always on the front lines and are ready to lay their lives down for the movement.

From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2019

Participants have been asked to look at gays, lesbians transgender people, transvestites and/or tomboys.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2017

But that last night we would spend with Canadian comics, English transvestites, South African playwrights and, even, a friendly band of Scottish Quakers.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 15, 2016

Beardsley’s transvestites and hermaphrodites are still marvellous to look at, but the pleasure is considerably amplified when one notices his witty references to Botticelli, Dürer, even Holbein the Younger.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 14, 2016