transexual

transexual — adjective

1. relating to people whose inner sense of being male or female is different from t

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

relating to people whose inner sense of being male or female is different from the sex recorded on their original birth certificate

Example

Aoi came out as a transexual woman during her second year at university.

The city clinic offers special support groups for transexual teenagers and their families.

collocation: transexual + group noun (teenagers / patients / employees)

Common collocations
  • transexual woman
  • transexual man
  • transexual people
  • transexual teenager
  • transexual patient
  • transexual employee
  • transexual identity
Synonyms
  • transgender

    broader, more modern umbrella term; preferred by most people and organisations today

  • trans

    informal abbreviation of transgender, common in everyday speech and within LGBTQ+ communities

  • transsexual

    variant spelling (with double 's') found in older and medical sources

Antonyms
  • cisgender

    describes people whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth

Grammar Patterns

transexual + noun (e.g. transexual woman, transexual people)

be + transexual (e.g. came out as transexual)

Usage Note

The word transexual (also spelled transsexual) is less common today than transgender, which many people prefer as a broader, more modern term. Transexual is still found in some medical records and legal documents.

Common Mistakes

A transexual is someone who enjoys wearing the clothes of the opposite sex.
A transexual is someone whose gender identity differs from their assigned sex.
Transexual relates to identity, not to clothing or cross-dressing, which is described by the term transvestite.
She is a transexual, so she was born male.
She is a transexual woman.
Referring to a transexual person by their assigned sex at birth rather than their gender identity can be inaccurate and disrespectful.

transexual — noun

Word family

  • transgender
    adjectiveC1
  • trans
    adjectiveC1
  • transsexual
    adjectiveC1
  • transition
    nounB2
  • transition
    verbB2
  • gender identity
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Transgender is the most widely accepted umbrella term today; it includes anyone whose gender identity differs from their assigned sex at birth, regardless of whether they pursue medical transition. Transexual is a narrower, historically older term that emphasized medical treatments like hormones or surgery, and many people now consider it outdated. Trans is a casual, modern abbreviation of transgender, commonly used by younger people and within LGBTQ+ spaces. Gender non-conforming is different — it covers people whose gender expression (appearance, clothing, behavior) does not follow societal expectations, but whose gender identity may still match their assigned sex. For example, a woman who wears masculine clothing is gender non-conforming but not necessarily transgender or transexual. When in doubt, use transgender or the person's specific identity (trans man, trans woman) rather than transexual.

transgendertrans ↗gender non-conforming

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • transexual woman/man
  • transexual people
  • transexual patient

Prepositions

  • as (identify as transexual)

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Formed from trans- (Latin for 'across, beyond') and sexual (from Latin sexualis, 'relating to the sexes'). The word was coined in mid-20th-century medical literature as a variant of transsexual, which appeared in the 1940s–50s. The spelling with one 's' (transexual) emerged as an alternative form and is used in some medical and legal records today.