SINCE 1828
nonbinary
adjective
non·bi·na·ry
| \ ˌnän-ˈbī-nə-rē
, -ˌner-ē, -ˌne-rē\
, -ˌner-ē, -ˌne-rē\
Definition of nonbinary
: not binary: such as
a
: not restricted to two things or parts
nonbinary voting
b
: of, relating to, or being a system of numbers that does not use 2 as its base
nonbinary math
c
: relating to or being a person who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that is neither entirely male nor entirely female
… an effort to create more equality for nonbinary and transgender students across campus.— Phoebe Roe … many people with nonbinary genders use "they" and "their" pronouns …— Lucy Brisbane
Examples of nonbinary in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The change is part of a new police department policy announced Tuesday that addresses how police should interact with transgender and nonbinary people. — USA TODAY, "Summer snow, yellow jacket super nests, laundered cat: News from around our 50 states," 26 June 2019 One writer pointed out that Netflix had cast a nonbinary actor, Casey Mongillo, in the lead role of Shinji, but this laudable move had virtually gone unnoticed amid the more widespread outcry over the other changes that had been made. — Aja Romano, Vox, "Netflix’s re-translation of Neon Genesis Evangelion is drawing backlash for queer erasure," 24 June 2019 Barry Jenkins's film Moonlight won Best Picture at the 2017 Oscars, and shows like Pose cast trans and nonbinary actors of color for roles that aligned with their race and sexuality. — Emily Wang, Teen Vogue, "Chloë Grace Moretz Called Out Hollywood for Treating "Boy Erased" Differently Than "The Miseducation of Cameron Post"," 3 Aug. 2018 Mara Pellittieri, the thirty-year-old editor of TalkPoverty, a Web site devoted to class and inequality, lives with her spouse, who identifies as nonbinary, in the liberal suburb of Takoma Park, Maryland. — Anna Louie Sussman, The New Yorker, "The Case for Redefining Infertility," 18 June 2019 That number is even higher for transgender and gender-nonbinary youth, 54 percent of whom have seriously considered suicide in that same timeframe, and 29 percent of whom have attempted it. — Emily Dreyfuss, WIRED, "LGBTQ+ Youth Prefer to Seek Mental Health Help Digitally," 11 June 2019 Freshwater is, at its core, about the fractured identity of a young Nigerian woman who lives a fraught life pulled in many directions as a result of the spirit, an experience that Emezi (who identifies as nonbinary) has said echoes their own. — Noor Brara, Vogue, "9 Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Writers You Should Know," 30 Oct. 2018 Support trans and nonbinary journalists, and make sure our major newspapers and media outlets are doing the same. — Josephine Yurcaba, Teen Vogue, "Transgender People Fought Back Against Trump's Gender-Definition Memo in a Powerful Rally," 22 Oct. 2018 Airlines for America and the International Air Transport Association—recently adopted a new standard to accommodate people with nonbinary gender identification. — Alison Sider, WSJ, "Airline Bookings to Offer New Gender Options," 16 Feb. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nonbinary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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