Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Free of explicit or implicit reference to gender or sex, as is the term police officer (instead of policewoman or policeman) or the term crewed (instead of manned).
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Applicable or available to either gender (to both males and females).
- adjective Not indicating or restricted by gender, and thus applicable or available to those of any gender and to those of no gender.
- adjective grammar In languages where words are assigned to one gender or another, lacking such an assignment.
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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*** Gigot: Well, it's a growing trend on college campuses across the country, so-called gender-neutral housing.
Enter, Stage Right 2011
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*** Gigot: Well, it's a growing trend on college campuses across the country, so-called gender-neutral housing.
Enter, Stage Right 2011
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But couldn't the Republicans have used the word "watchdog," which is the standard term, or at least found some other gender-neutral expression?
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More National Anthems The Canadian government considered a gender-neutral substitute for the line "True patriot love in all thy sons command," but public hostility to the change was ferocious.
Oh, Say, Can You See New Lyrics for This Anthem? Matt Moffett 2011
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"I see nothing wrong with sets being targeted to girls, and the parents who are so outraged by the issue seem to be blind to the fact that no matter how hard we try to push gender-neutral things on our kids, they eventually get drawn to 'girl' and 'boy' toys," she said.
'Good Guy' Goes for Girls Sumathi Reddy 2012
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But couldn't the Republicans have used the word "watchdog," which is the standard term, or at least found some other gender-neutral expression?
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Just as the ability of the word man to be gender-neutral varies from context to context, so too does the neutrality of the morpheme man vary from word to word.
Why do so many people hate gender-neutral words? (Oh, s—!) « Motivated Grammar 2010
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Canada's government, seeking to promote equal rights for women, said last March it was considering a gender-neutral substitute for the "O Canada" lyric that goes, "true patriot love in all thy sons command."
Oh, Say, Can You See New Lyrics for This Anthem? Matt Moffett 2011
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One last consideration is how easy it is to get a gender-neutral version of the word.
Why do so many people hate gender-neutral words? (Oh, s—!) « Motivated Grammar 2010
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THE PIERRE and THE NIGHT HOTEL + Molton Brown Molton Brown Hand wash from Molton Brown Molton Brown uses more gender-neutral fragrances to cater to male travelers, who are less likely to carry their own products on the road.
Hotel Seeks Soap With Chic Image for Guests to Swipe Sarah Rose 2011
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