noun as antecedent The singular antecedent can also be a noun such as person, patient, or student: With a noun (e.g. person, student, patient) used generically (e.g. in the sense of any member of that class or a specific member unknown to the speaker or writer) "cognitive dissonance: "a concept in psychology [that] describes the condition in which a person's attitudes conflict with their behaviour". — Macmillan Dictionary of Business and Management (1988), as cited by Garner. "A starting point would be to give more support to the company secretary. They are, or should be, privy to the confidential deliberations and secrets of the board and the company. —Ronald Severn. "Protecting the Secretary Bird". Financial Times, 6 January 1992; quoted by Garner. With representatives of a class previously referred to in the singular "I had to decide: Is this person being irrational or is he right? Of course, they were often right." — Robert Burchfield in U.S. News & World Report 11 August 1986, as cited in Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage Even when referring to a class of persons of known sex, they is sometimes used: "I swear more when I'm talking to a boy, because I'm not afraid of shocking them". From an interview. "No mother should be forced to testify against their child". They may also be used with antecedents of mixed genders: "Let me know if your father or your mother changes their mind." Example given by Huddleston et al. "Either the husband or the wife has perjured themself." Here themself might be acceptable to some, themselves seems less acceptable, and himself is unacceptable. Example given by Huddleston et al. Even for a definite known person of known sex, they may be used in order to ignore or conceal the sex. "I had a friend in Paris, and they had to go to hospital for a month." (definite person, not identified) The word themself is also sometimes used when the antecedent is known or believed to be a single person: "Someone has apparently locked themself in the office."[acceptability questionable] Use for specific, known people, including non-binary people Known individuals may be referred to as they if the individual's gender is unknown to the speaker. A known individual may also be referred to as they if the individual is non-binary or genderqueer and considers they and derivatives as appropriate pronouns. Several social media applications permit account