gender dysphoria

noun

: a distressed state arising from conflict between a person's gender identity and the sex the person was identified as having at birth

I am a 24-year-old transgender woman, and I know gender dysphoria very well. My distress over my physical body, my feeling that it doesn't always match up with my gender identity, often lurks in some far corner of my mind. It doesn't matter how well I'm dressed, how much I brush my hair, how many compliments I receive, or how well my hormone therapy treatment is working. When gender dysphoria hits, it packs a punch.

—Serena Sonoma

also : a condition marked by such distress

The treatment for gender dysphoria is often multi-disciplinary, combining the efforts of several behavioral health and medical professionals. … Non-operative treatment focuses on implementing psychosocial therapy and/or medical management with hormone replacement therapy. Operative treatments range from small cosmetic procedures to much larger genital transformation surgeries.

—Danyon Anderson et al.

compare gender euphoria

Examples of gender dysphoria in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump’s 2025 order and a Defense Department policy disqualifying people with gender dysphoria were blasted by the majority as targeting a politically unpopular group under the guise of military readiness. —Michael Kunzelman, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026

There are around 600 inmates across federal prisons who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, according to federal prison data. —Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 27 May 2026

The decision will allow physicians to administer puberty blockers and hormone therapy for teenagers experiencing gender dysphoria with the permission of their parents. —Matthew Kelly may 19, Kansas City Star, 19 May 2026

Four transgender girls, ranging from age 10 to 17, sued the hospital, through their parents, alleging that the hospital was violating the state’s antidiscrimination law by refusing to provide them treatment both because of their gender identity and their disability, gender dysphoria. —ABC News, 19 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gender dysphoria

• dioscorea
• infusoria
• sanatoria
• aporia
• centaurea
• euphoria
• septoria
• signoria
• trattoria
• chorea
• correa
• doria

Medical Definition

gender dysphoria

noun

: a distressed state arising from conflict between a person's gender identity and the sex the person was identified as having at birth

Nonbinary people may or may not use medical approaches to align their identities and physical bodies, and, like transgender people, some nonbinary people experience gender dysphoria while others do not.

—Elizabeth Kukura, Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics

also : a condition marked by such distress

Scientists have no conclusive explanation for what causes some people to feel dissonance between their gender identity and aspects of their anatomy. In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association updated its manual, replacing the term "gender identity disorder," with one that is less stigmatizing, "gender dysphoria."

—The New York Times

compare gender euphoria