transgressive

[trans-gres-iv, tranz-]

adjective

1. violating or challenging socially accepted standards of behavior, belief, morality, or taste: Transgressive fiction focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free in unusual ways.

   We welcome those who are engaged in consensual, albeit transgressive sexualities.

   Transgressive fiction focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free in unusual ways.

2. violating a law, rule, command, or duty, or causing harm by doing so.

   We need to develop principled arguments that demonstrate the essentially transgressive nature of activities that damage the natural environment.

transgressive

/ ˌtrænzˈɡrɛsɪv /

adjective

1. going beyond acceptable boundaries of taste, convention, or the law

   transgressive art

   transgressive pursuits

Other Word Forms

• transgressively adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of transgressive¹

First recorded in 1640–50; transgress ( def. ) + -ive ( def. )

Example Sentences

For the Gen Z fans fascinated by Nails’ gothic-erotic aesthetic, it felt more transgressive than ever.

From Los Angeles Times

In a 2022 episode of the podcast “Your Weirdest Fears,” Northwestern University professor David Tolchinsky peeled the transgressive nature of eyeball horror down to a basic dread of annihilation.

From Salon

The years following “Girls” gave us one messy woman after another until the concept lost its transgressive thrill.

From Salon

There was something transgressive and liberating about an aesthetic that inverted not only good and bad taste but also conventional and unconventional morality.

From Los Angeles Times

While the celebrities in these clothes aren’t explicitly transgressive figures, their presence in this world of high status is in a sense a form of transgression.

From Los Angeles Times