transgression

[trans-gresh-uh n, tranz-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR transgression ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act of transgressing; violation of a law, command, etc.; sin.

Origin of transgression

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin trānsgressiōn- (stem of trānsgressiō) a stepping across. See transgress, -ion

Related formsnon·trans·gres·sion, noun

Synonym study

See breach.

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

Related Words for transgression

infringement, infraction, lapse, misdemeanor, crime, misdeed, wrongdoing, error, breach, fault, sin, disobedience, vice, iniquity, encroachment, contravention, trespass, wrong, slip, defiance

Examples from the Web for transgression

Contemporary Examples of transgression

Every page would carry its own proof of transgression, and thus its own guarantee of detection.
Compliments Are Nice, but Enough With the Cormac McCarthy Comparisons
William Giraldi
October 21, 2014
It takes a transgression with real bite to inspire a furor of this intensity—Brangelina burn Jennifer!
He’s Still Older, Even in the Moonlight: Woody Allen’s May-December Romances Inspire Scrutiny
Teo Bugbee
July 25, 2014
Risk, transgression, mockery, rebellion—these are the revving motors of fun.
A History of American Fun
Stefan Beck
February 9, 2014
The sister in question had never apologized to her sibling for this transgression.
Should You Divorce Your Family After the Holidays?
Keli Goff
January 2, 2014
It gives a pleasant sense of transgression, of really being in the nitty-gritty.
‘Stupid Enough to Pay’: Tim Parks’s Italian Rail Adventures
Tim Parks
June 23, 2013

Historical Examples of transgression

Unbelief was also a probable concomitant in this transgression.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. I
Francis Augustus Cox
Your transgression will be forgiven you since you have confessed and testify your horror for it.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
I will show them wherein they have erred, and that transgression stands in the way to life.
Bunyan
James Anthony Froude
His transgression had destroyed his faith, and then dogma had tottered.
Abbe Mouret's Transgression
Emile Zola
Marianne, recognizing how serious was the transgression, wished to scold him.
Fruitfulness
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for transgression

transgression

noun

a breach of a law, etc; sin or crime

the act or an instance of transgressing

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 transgression

late 14c., from Old French transgression (12c.), from Late Latin transgressionem (nominative transgressio) "a transgression of the law," in classical Latin, "a going over," from transgressus, past participle of transgredi "go beyond," from trans- "across" (see trans-) + gradi (past participle gressus) "to walk, go" (see grade).

transgression in Science

transgression

[trăns-grĕsh′ən]

A relative rise in sea level resulting in deposition of marine strata over terrestrial strata. The sequence of sedimentary strata formed by transgressions and regressions provides information about the changes in sea level during a particular geologic time. Compare regression.