transgress

[trans-gres, tranz-]

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verb (used without object)

to violate a law, command, moral code, etc.; offend; sin.

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.

Origin of transgress

1520–30; < 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 > ss

Related formstrans·gres·sive, adjectivetrans·gres·sive·ly, adverbtrans·gres·sor, nounnon·trans·gres·sive, adjectivenon·trans·gres·sive·ly, adverbun·trans·gressed, adjective

Synonyms for transgress

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR transgress ON THESAURUS.COM

1. err, trespass. 3. contravene, disobey.

Antonyms for transgress

3. obey.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for transgress

infringe, trespass, violate, contravene, disobey, err, exceed, offend, overstep

Examples from the Web for transgress

Contemporary Examples of transgress

But does he transgress defining ideological litmus tests and potentially put himself beyond the pale of party acceptability?
A Thinner Chris Christie Still Faces Big Political Challenges
Robert Shrum
May 10, 2013
How dare she transgress against the sacred appeal of extreme physical and mental pain?
Leave Elizabeth Alone
Lee Siegel
January 11, 2010

Historical Examples of transgress

God threatens to punish all those who transgress these commandments.
An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism
Joseph Stump
He said to them, "why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?"
Mysticism and its Results
John Delafield
For it is not in any man's power to constrain thee to transgress against him.
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
The boundaries of the State were defined, and it engaged not to transgress them.
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 1 (of 6)
Louis Creswicke
But I was in a mood to transgress all rules and even to forget the rights of lovers.
That Affair Next Door
Anna Katharine Green

British Dictionary definitions for transgress

transgress

verb

to break (a law, rule, etc)

to go beyond or overstep (a limit)

Derived Formstransgressor, noun

Word Origin for transgress

C16: from Latin transgredī, from trans- + gradī to step

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for transgress

late 15c., from Middle French transgresser (14c.), from Latin transgressus, past participle of transgredi "to step across" (see transgression). Related: Transgressed; transgressing.