transcendence
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of transcendence
From the Medieval Latin word trānscendentia, dating back to 1595–1605. See transcendent, -ence
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Explanation
Transcendence is the act of rising above something to a superior state. If you were at a concert where the rock star jumped into the audience, the concert (and audience) may have achieved a state of transcendence. Transcendence comes from the Latin prefix trans-, meaning "beyond," and the word scandare, meaning "to climb." When you achieve transcendence, you have gone beyond ordinary limitations. The word is often used to describe a spiritual or religious state, or a condition of moving beyond physical needs and realities. One way to achieve transcendence spiritually might be to fast for a long time. If you have trouble letting go of material needs, then you will have a difficult time achieving transcendence.
Vocabulary lists containing transcendence
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 8
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The Fire Next Time
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I'll Give You the Sun
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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.
As the juke joint crowd responds, he loses himself in the timeless transcendence artists hope for.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026
Harrison sought transcendence; what he set in motion was securitization.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
“Maybe they’re not churchgoers, so they have this sense of community and transcendence, where that song touches them on this level, which takes them somewhere else,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 30, 2025
Instead it helps bring home the horror movie’s big theme about the transcendence of art for oppressed people, including “music so true it can pierce the veil between life and death.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 26, 2025
We have a higher self, a capacity for transcendence.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
