transcend

American  

[tran-send] / trænˈsɛnd /

verb (used with object)

• transcends,
  present (3rd person singular)
• transcended,
  past participle,  past
• transcending
  present participle

1. to rise above or go beyond; overpass; exceed.

   to transcend the limits of thought; kindness transcends courtesy.

2. to outdo or exceed in excellence, elevation, extent, degree, etc.; surpass; excel.

   Synonyms:

   outstrip

3. Theology. (of the Deity) to be above and independent of (the universe, time, etc.).

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verb (used without object)

• transcends,
  present (3rd person singular)
• transcended,
  past participle,  past
• transcending
  present participle

1. to be transcendent or superior; excel.

   His competitiveness made him want to transcend.

transcend British  

/ trænˈsɛnd /

verb

1. to go above or beyond (a limit, expectation, etc), as in degree or excellence

2. (tr) to be superior to

3. philosophy theol (esp of the Deity) to exist beyond (the material world)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• untranscended
  adjective
• transcendingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• transcending
  present
• transcended
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• transcend
  simple
• transcends
  simple
• have transcended
  perfect
• has transcended
  perfect
• am transcending
  progressive
• are transcending
  progressive
• is transcending
  progressive
• have been transcending
  perfect progressive
• has been transcending
  perfect progressive

Past

• transcended
  simple
• had transcended
  perfect
• was transcending
  progressive
• were transcending
  progressive
• had been transcending
  perfect progressive

Future

• will transcend
  simple
• will have transcended
  perfect
• will be transcending
  progressive
• will have been transcending
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of transcend

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Latin trānscendere “to surmount,” from trāns- trans- + -scendere (combining form of scandere “to climb”)

Explanation

It would be nice to transcend the narrow limits of this brief definition, and go to greater lengths to describe this word's glories! Transcend means to move upward and beyond something. No doubt you know about the words transcontinental or maybe trans fats? The prefix trans is used to mean "beyond, across" and transcend takes this even further by adding in a sense of upwardness with the stem cend. A pop artist with a lot of talent might transcend the genre of pop. You can't assume a person's opinion on national security by party affiliation — it often transcends party lines.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

transcend transcends transcended transcending

Back to full health, and her confidence in her ability fully restored, Hunt is now realising her full potential - and beginning to transcend the sport in the process.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Yet his latest fails to magically transcend its deceptively simple premise.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

But DC’s latest installment lands like a big hunk of Kryptonite for the dream of a superhero franchise that can transcend the genre’s clichés, Slate’s Dana Stevens writes.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

At a summit in Beijing last month, Xi Jinping asked Donald Trump if the countries could "transcend the so-called 'Thucydides Trap' and forge a new paradigm for major-power relations".

From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026

Part of me wants us to transcend in the same way.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

Talarico’s Christianity celebrates pluralism, affirms LGBTQ+ individuals and believes God transcends all partisan divisions.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Beckham transcends clubs, generations and even football itself.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

At 82, he sits with perfect posture, possessing an elegance that transcends our threadbare surroundings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

This sport transcends race, class, nationality, language, and religion.

From Slate ● Jun. 14, 2026

Quasi-mathematical questions arise naturally when one transcends one’s self, family, and friends.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Charlie has transcended a workhouse childhood to become a person of some culture—his favorite novelist is, ironically enough, that bard of extreme poverty, Charles Dickens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Khichuri was so beloved that its influence later transcended geographical boundaries and cultures.

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026

In the case of “Brigadoon,” Lerner and Loewe composed a musical that recognized the global scar of World War II, and in its insistence that love transcended loss, gave people the catharsis they needed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026

For a moment, he adds, it transcended partisan divisions.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026

His basketball skills transcended his years; he was only in fifth grade when high schools started to recruit him.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

Students from across the country have joined the protests in Delhi, transcending caste, religion and regional identities.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

On “Love You Right,” a track with deep bass and a gospel-inflected piano line, her voice builds to a wild howl as she sings about how human connection makes transcending hardship possible.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Ada Carrillo, one of the devout who crowed the basilica this week, said she unites all of Mexico, transcending political, geographic and class divides.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025

"Major international sporting events embody a spirit of unity and dialogue, transcending differences and divisions," said a statement from world cycling's governing body.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2025

Crowd, heat, bad quarters, bad fare, bad smells, mosquitoes, and a plague of flies transcending everything within my experience.

From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly

Related Words

• eclipse
• outstrip
• overstep
• transform