they/them
1 synonyms and 0 antonyms for they/them, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Pronoun — A set of pronouns used to refer to a single person, especially one who is non-binary or whose gender is not known or not being specified. Often stated as a person's pronouns in introductions, email signatures and social media profiles.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
How to use they/them
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Neutral and now standard in workplace, academic and media writing. Deliberately using the wrong pronouns for someone is widely read as an insult rather than a grammatical choice.
Etymology
From a common format for specifying gender-neutral pronouns in online profiles.
Full origin of they/them →Frequently asked questions
What does it mean when someone says their pronouns are they/them?
It means they want to be referred to with "they", "them", "their" and "theirs" rather than he/him or she/her. It is most often used by non-binary people, but some people use it simply because they prefer not to be gendered. Grammatically it works like a plural pronoun but refers to one person: "they are running late".
Is singular "they" grammatically correct?
Yes. Singular "they" has been used in English since the 1300s for a person of unknown or unspecified gender, as in "someone left their umbrella". Major style guides, including the AP Stylebook and Chicago, now also accept it for a named individual who uses it.
What is the difference between they/them and he/him or she/her?
They/them does not specify gender; he/him and she/her do. All three are simply the pronoun set a speaker uses when talking about the person, and the person themself decides which applies.