adj
transsexual
tranz-SEHK-shoo-uhl
adj
1
Describing someone who has changed, or is changing, their physical sex through medical treatment such as hormone therapy or surgery.
"The documentary followed a transsexual woman through her transition."
noun
1
A transsexual person.
"He identified as a transsexual man after completing his transition."
How to Use Transsexual
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishDescribes someone who has medically transitioned to another sex.
When to use it
Largely replaced by "transgender" as the general umbrella term since the 1990s; "transsexual" is now used more narrowly and some prefer to avoid it — follow the preference of the person being described.
Easily confused with
Word Forms
more transsexual comparative, transsexuals plural, most transsexual superlative
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The documentary followed a _____ woman through her transition.
Etymology
Coined in English in 1949 by physician David Oliver Cauldwell, adapting the German term Transsexualismus coined by Magnus Hirschfeld in 1923.