transcendent

[tran-sen-duhnt]

adjective

1. going beyond ordinary limits; surpassing; exceeding.

2. superior or supreme.

3. Theology.,  (of the Deity) transcending the universe, time, etc.

4. Philosophy.

   1. Scholasticism.,  above all possible modes of the infinite.

   2. Kantianism.,  transcending experience; not realizable in human experience.

   3. (in modern realism) referred to, but beyond, direct apprehension; outside consciousness.

noun

Mathematics.

1. a transcendental function.

transcendent

/ trænˈsɛndənt /

adjective

1. exceeding or surpassing in degree or excellence

2. 1. (in the philosophy of Kant) beyond or before experience; a priori

   2. (of a concept) falling outside a given set of categories

   3. beyond consciousness or direct apprehension

3. theol (of God) having continuous existence outside the created world

4. free from the limitations inherent in matter

noun

1. philosophy a transcendent thing

Other Word Forms

• transcendently adverb
• transcendentness noun
• supertranscendent adjective
• supertranscendently adverb
• supertranscendentness noun
• untranscendent adjective
• transcendence noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of transcendent¹

1575–85; < Latin trānscendent- (stem of trānscendēns ), present participle of trānscendere. See transcend, -ent

Example Sentences

The splintered nature of men's professional golf cannot continue, even when someone as transcendently charismatic as McIlroy is reigning supreme.

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The 37-year-old singer released “Eusexua” in January as both the namesake of her record and a term she coined to describe a transcendent state of being.

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By now, the expectation whenever Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes step onto the same field is for the two transcendent quarterbacks to produce an instant classic.

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And like “Anora,” this movie ends on a perfect, transcendent note.

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This transcendent — and at times terrifying — account of that evolution enriches that understanding.

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Related Words

• abstract 
• fantastic 
• otherworldly 
• sublime 
• supernatural 
• ultimate