gender reassignment

noun

1

now sometimes offensive : a process by which a transgender or nonbinary (see nonbinary sense c) person comes to live in accordance with their gender identity through changes to their appearance and presentation often with the aid of medical procedures and therapies : gender transition

Note: This term is sometimes considered to be offensive in its implication that a transgender or nonbinary person takes on a different gender, rather than making changes to align their outward appearance and presentation with their gender identity. Gender transition is the preferred term in the medical and LGBTQ+ communities.

see also gender reassignment surgery

2

: the process of surgically altering the reproductive anatomy of an individual with ambiguous genitalia or intersexuality

At 3 weeks of age, a pediatric urologist and surgeon could not palpate the testes. … His opinion was that the child should have gender reassignment and be raised as female based on the lack of penile tissue and poor response to testosterone.

—Katherine Rossiter and Shonna Diehl

Examples of gender reassignment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Eddie Redmayne was cast as a transgender woman who was one of the first to undergo gender reassignment surgery. —Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 19 Aug. 2025

Inspired by the lives of Danish painters Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, the film stars Eddie Redmayne as a transgender artist who was one of the early recipients of gender reassignment surgery. —Zack Sharf, Variety, 19 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1969, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for gender reassignment

• alignment
• alinement
• assignment
• confinement
• consignment
• refinement
• misalignment
• nonalignment
• realignment
• reconsignment

Medical Definition

gender reassignment

noun

1

now sometimes offensive : a process by which a transgender or nonbinary person comes to live in accordance with their gender identity through changes to their appearance and presentation often with the aid of medical procedures and therapies : gender transition

Note: This term is sometimes considered to be offensive in its implication that a transgender or nonbinary person takes on a different gender, rather than makes changes to align their outward appearance and presentation with their gender identity. Gender transition is the preferred term in the medical and LGBTQ+ communities.

see also gender reassignment surgery

2

: the process of surgically altering the reproductive anatomy of an individual with ambiguous genitalia or intersexuality

Penile agenesis is a rare but complex male genitalia abnormality. The preferred approach in the past was female gender reassignment because the construction of a functioning penis in children was not considered possible.

—Roberto de Castro et al., Journal of Pediatric Urology