Some words are outdated, others just don’t fit. Here’s an ever-growing list of words to help write inclusive (and accurate!) academic work.

To get started, look for the word or phrase you want to replace. Don’t see it? Let us know!

A

• Addicted: love,
• Afflicted with: patient of

B

• Biological (wo/man, fe/male, sex): assigned male/female at birth, assigned sex at birth, raised as a boy/girl
• Blind: limited vision, low vision, partially sighted, visually impaired; spot - awareness gap
• Born (wo/man, fe/male, sex): assigned male/female at birth, assigned sex at birth, raised as a boy/girl

C

• Craftmanship: artisanship
• Crazy: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control, bizarre, wild, restless, intense overwhelming, sensational, unbelievable, absurd, ridiculous, confusing
• Crippled: impeded, frozen, stopped

D

• Deranged: wild, confusing, unpredictable, impulsive, reckless, fearless, lives on the edge, thrill-seeker, risk-taker, out of control, bizarre, wild, restless, intense overwhelming, sensational, unbelievable, absurd, ridiculous, confusing
• Disorder/defect: (genetic) condition
• Disseminate: publicize, distribute, circulate, communicate

E

F

• Female: (cables/pipes/connectors) recessed threading, socket

G

• Gender identity disorder: gender dysphoria
• Gender non-binary: non-binary

H

• His/Her: their

I

• Identify/Identifies: In reference to gender, ethnicity – use is/are

J

K

L

M

• Male: (cables/pipes/connectors) extended threading, plug
• Man-hours: labor hours
• Man-made: manufactured
• Manhunt: search
• Mankind: humankind
• Manned: crewed, staffed
• Master: (computing) administrator, commander, principal
• Men and Women: people

N

O

• One: their
• Opposite sex: different sex, another sex

P

• Paralyzed: impeded, frozen, stopped
• Promiscuous: (cytokines/ligands) multifunctional, versatile, cross-functional

Q

R

S

• Seminal: influential, formative, groundbreaking, innovative
• Sex change/reassignment: transition, gender-affirming care, transition-related care
• Sexy: intriguing, fascinating, fashionable, trendy
• Slave: (computing) drudge, drone, submodule, secondary
• Stricken: patient of
• Strong: robust evidence, hardy specimen, tenacious candidate, secure system, stricter assumptions
• Suffers: patient of
• Suicide: (inhibitors) irreversible; (neutrophils)

T

• Transgendered/transsexual: transgender
• Tribe: group, crew, circle, squad, community

U

V

• Victim: patient

W

• Wheelchair-bound: wheelchair user

X

Y

Z

Don’t see what you need?

Contact us to get suggestions and have us include it in our neutral language thesaurus. Be sure to provide the context!

Related Resources

• The International Longevity Center: https://www.issuelab.org/resources/11981/11981.pdf
• The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists: https://www.nlgja.org/stylebook-on-lgbtq-terminology/
• Trans Journalists Association, Style Guide: https://transjournalists.org/style-guide/
• National Center on Disability and Journalism, Disability Language Style Guide: https://ncdj.org/style-guide/
• Conscious Style Guide: https://consciousstyleguide.com/
• Linguistic Society of America, Guidelines for Inclusive Language: https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/guidelines-inclusive-language
• Autistic HOYA, Ableism/Language: https://www.autistichoya.com/p/ableist-words-and-terms-to-avoid.html
• The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), Cultural Competence Handbook: https://nahj.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/NAHJ-Cultural-Competence-Handbook.pdf
• CDC’s Guiding Principles to Promote an Equity-Centered Approach to Public Health Communication: https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2023/23_0061.htm