Transgender

/tɹænzˈd͡ʒɛndə/ adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A transgender person
  • Grammar: transgender is listed as adj, noun, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: t*, tg, trans, trans*.
  • Useful contrasts: bigender, cisgender, cis.
  • Usage evidence: There are people who don't know yet that transgender people exist.

How to use "transgender"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "transgender" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "transgender" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "transgender" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "transgender" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "transgender" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "t*" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "transgender", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A transgender person countable, offensive, often, usually

    ""If you understand trans-genders," she [Christine Jorgensen] says, choosing the word she prefers to transsexuals, "then you understand that gender is different than sexual preference. It doesn't have to do with bed partners, it has to do with identity." Jorgensen says she knows of some male-to-female trans-genders who have settled into lesbian relationships. She herself is heterosexual."

  2. 2
    A transgender person; Transgender people collectively. countable, offensive, often, uncountable, usually
  3. 3
    Synonym of transgenderism (“the state of being transgender”). rare, uncountable, usually

    "In spite of not "rootin' and tootin'" as a trans-gender case, in recent years [Christine] Jorgensen has been a staple on the college lecture circuit, speaking – of course – about trans-gender and herself."

Verb
  1. 1
    To change the gender of (someone). offensive, often, transitive, uncommon

    "[…] and one that is still dominated by male nominees, women nominees might be seen as either contributing to the regendering, or the transgendering, of the Cabinet. […] This chapter examines women secretaries-designate in terms of their contributions to regendering or transgendering a cabinet office, to a gender desegregation or integration of the cabinet."

  2. 2
    To change the sex of (someone). broadly, offensive, often, transitive, uncommon
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of a person: having a gender (identity) which is different from one's assigned sex; that is, the identity of a trans man, trans woman, or someone non-binary, for example, agender, bigender, or third-gender. broadly, not-comparable

    "We have taken to the local radio station, to talk about transgender problems. Carol Fremont is working in this area, and by General Conference we should have some interesting insights and understandings to share regarding transgender persons."

  2. 2
    Of a person: having a gender (identity) which is different from one's assigned sex; that is, the identity of a trans man, trans woman, or someone non-binary, for example, agender, bigender, or third-gender.; Of a person: having a gender (identity) which is opposite from the sex one was assigned at birth: being assigned male but having a female gender, or vice versa (that is, not including a non-binary identity). broadly, not-comparable

    "Gender identity is whether or not a person perceives him/herself to be a man or woman (see ‘man’ and ‘woman’). The problem arises when a male perceives himself to be a woman, and vise versa.^([sic – meaning vice versa]) Notice I said man or woman, and not male or female. The difference is important. Male and female are biological terms, while man and woman as they are used here are modes of being, ways to be, which are based on psychology and sociology rather than biology. (see ‘gender dysphoria’) Sexual identity is a ‘transsexual’ issue and may involve sexual re-assignment surgery, but may not involve cross-dressing. Gender identity is a ‘transgender’ issue and does not involve surgery, but almost always involves cross-dressing."

  3. 3
    Of a person: transgressing or not identifying with culturally conventional gender roles and categories of male or female. broadly, not-comparable

    "I think the new punk rockers are going to be more androgynous, more bisexual, more transgender, more ethnically diverse and less willing to take shit than before, as well as less homophobic, racist, and sexist, not because it's politically correct, man, but because all of those things stink of a parent's world of authoritarian bullshit that want to deprive people of their individuality."

  4. 4
    Of or pertaining to transgender people (adjective sense 1), or their experiences or identity. not-comparable

    "We have taken to the local radio station, to talk about transgender problems."

  5. 5
    Of a space: intended primarily for transgender people. not-comparable

    "Despite the significant HIV/AIDS risks faced by transgenders, we could locate targeted prevention programs in only a handful of locations throughout the country. […] In Boston, no AIDS prevention messages are posted at the primary drag queen and transgender bar."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    Of a space: available for use by transgender people, rather than only non-transgender people. not-comparable

    "Group wants transgender bathrooms for UMASS [title]"

  2. 7
    Synonym of crossgender (“across multiple genders”). dated, not-comparable

    "Of course some unhappiness is simply a transgender phenomenon. Realists learn to expect a day in which perhaps 40 to 80 per cent is made up of repetition of what was done the day before and the day before that. Any set of normal days with over 20 per cent of excitement in them would be extraordinary. Consequently, the mere fact of being human, whether male or female, requires endurance, tolerance, a sense of moderate wholesome expectations."

Adjective
  1. 1
    involving a partial or full reversal of gender wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
t*tgtranstrans*trans-gendertransexual

Example

"There are people who don't know yet that transgender people exist."

Common questions

What does "transgender" mean?

A transgender person

What is a synonym for "transgender"?

Common synonyms include: t*, tg, trans, trans*, trans-gender, transexual.

How do you use "transgender" in a sentence?

There are people who don't know yet that transgender people exist.

How do you pronounce "transgender"?

Pronounced /tɹænzˈd͡ʒɛndə/.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *terh₂-der. Proto-Italic *trānts Latin trāns Latin trans-bor. English trans- Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os Latin genus Old French gendrebor. Middle English gendre English gender English transgender The adjective sense is derived from trans- (“extending across, through, or over”) + gender, modelled after transsexual (adjective) and probably modified from transgenderism which was coined by the American psychiatrist John F. Oliven (1915–1975) in 1965; the terms transgender, transgenderal, transgendered, transgenderist, and similar terms arose in the decades after this. By the 1990s, the word transgender had acquired its current senses, and had also largely displaced the earlier term transsexual: see the usage notes. The noun and verb senses are derived from the adjective. Regarding noun noun sense 2 ("synonym of transgenderism"), compare transsex (noun).

More for "transgender"

Synonyms

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