transgressive

[ trans-gres-iv, tranz- ]

/ trænsˈgrɛs ɪv, trænz- /

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adjective

violating or challenging socially accepted standards of behavior, belief, morality, or taste: We welcome those who are engaged in consensual, albeit transgressive sexualities.Transgressive fiction focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free in unusual ways.

violating a law, rule, command, or duty, or causing harm by doing so: We need to develop principled arguments that demonstrate the essentially transgressive nature of activities that damage the natural environment.

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Origin of transgressive

First recorded in 1640–50; transgress + -ive

Words nearby transgressive

transgenic, transgenics, transgenic species, transgress, transgression, transgressive, transgressor, transhiatal, transhiatal esophagectomy, tranship, transhumance

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use transgressive in a sentence

After the drabness of the 1950s, her clothes were chic and slightly transgressive, but not haute couture.
Barbara Hulanicki, Queen of Fast Fashion|Lizzie Crocker|October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What was once sexy and mildly transgressive—the perfect antidote to Twilight—devolved into a repetitive, unimaginative mess.
'True Blood' Ends With a Whimper: The Sexy HBO Vampire Series Is (Finally) Over|Marlow Stern|August 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A genuinely transgressive art moment reeked of elementary school art project.
Sex-Crazed Narcissist Pretends He's an Artist|Justin Jones|August 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To that end, they partnered with oddity website Atlas Obscura over the summer to host “The School of Transgressive Placemaking.”
A Most Illegal Adventure with New York City’s Wildest Underground Event Planners|Nina Strochlic|December 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST

As a 22-year-old VJ for MTV, in the days when MTV still had VJs, Kennedy was at once transgressive and unpredictable.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery on Her Path From MTV to Fox Business|Lloyd Grove|December 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It is obvious all through that transgressive growth is the starting-point in the formation of new individuals.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel
When this limit has been passed, the transgressive growth takes the form of reproduction.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel
If then selection does not bring about transgressive variation in a general population, how can selection produce anything new?
A Critique of the Theory of Evolution|Thomas Hunt Morgan

British Dictionary definitions for transgressive

transgressive

/ (ˌtrænzˈɡrɛsɪv) /

adjective

going beyond acceptable boundaries of taste, convention, or the lawtransgressive art; transgressive pursuits

Derived forms of transgressive

transgressively, adverb

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