transgress
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to pass over or go beyond (a limit, boundary, etc.).
to transgress bounds of prudence.
-
to go beyond the limits imposed by (a law, command, etc.); violate; infringe.
to transgress the will of God.
- Synonyms:
- disobey, contravene
- Antonyms:
- obey
verb
-
to break (a law, rule, etc)
-
to go beyond or overstep (a limit)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
transgressivelyadverb
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transgressornoun
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nontransgressivelyadverb
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transgressiveadjective
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untransgressedadjective
-
nontransgressiveadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have transgressedperfect
-
has transgressedperfect 3rd person singular
-
has been transgressingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
is transgressingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are transgressingprogressive
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am transgressingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been transgressingperfect progressive
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transgressingparticiple
-
transgressessingular 3rd person
Past
-
had transgressedperfect
-
was transgressingprogressive singular
-
were transgressingprogressive plural
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had been transgressingperfect progressive
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transgressedsimple
-
transgressedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of transgress
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin trānsgressus (past participle of trānsgredī “to step across”), equivalent to trāns- trans- + -gred- (combining form of gradī “to step”; see grade) + -tus past participle suffix, with dt becoming ss
Explanation
When you go beyond the boundaries, either physically or morally, you transgress. A river will transgress its banks as it floods, and students who cheat transgress school rules. Transgress sounds like and means nearly the same thing as trespass. When you transgress a rule, you're breaking it. Religions often talk about transgressing: for Christians, breaking a commandment is transgressing against God by violating his wishes. Any transgression is pushing through a boundary: like a neighbor transgressing by letting their dog into your yard: that's a physical and a legal type of transgressing. The dog got into your territory, and the owners broke a rule.
Vocabulary lists containing transgress
Antigone
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Twelfth Night
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Vocabulary from the Magna Carta on its 800th Anniversary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Taking these points together, it becomes clear that the ordinary bounds of judicial review are capacious, and it would be extraordinarily rare for a state court to transgress them.
From Slate • Sep. 19, 2024
I’m always fascinated by what society does to allow themselves to do whatever to transgress.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2023
“It could be another previous life, or some harm done to you, or a lack of self-knowledge that makes us transgress on our worldview,” he said.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 27, 2022
The minister, Mohamed Abdel Atim says it is "a clear message to those who transgress on the Nile".
From BBC • Jun. 28, 2022
It soon became clear that there were limits beyond which one could not transgress on the Manhattan.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
