TRANSGENDER Definition & Meaning

transgender

[ trans-jen-der, �ٰ��Գ�‑ ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

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

noun

Usually Offensive. a person who is transgender.

transgender

/ ˌ�ٰ�æ�Գ�ˈ��ɛ�Ի�ə /

adjective

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

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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The term transgender has largely replaced the older term transsexual, which is now considered outdated, though some people within the community continue to identify with the word transsexual, especially older people.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 –e�� suffix seems to imply that something happened to make the person transgender. trans, transsexual.

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Derived Forms

ˌ�ٰ��Բ�ˈ��Ի��, adjective

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of transgender¹

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

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Compare Meanings

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

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Salinas said he believes the administration’s probe into the curriculum is a thinly veiled attempt to erase mentions of the transgender community, transgender health care and different gender identities and pronouns.

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It came not long after Maine’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, had publicly challenged Trump over the rights of transgender students.

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He has pushed especially hard for “parental rights” measures that would mandate parents be informed whenever a child identifies as transgender or asks to change their name or pronouns at school.

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The CIF, which oversees high school sports in the state, does not keep records on how many of such students are transgender, but experts say the number is small.

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Progressives and advocates for the transgender community within his own party accused him of betraying a group that had supported his political rise.

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