transgress

verb trans·gress \ tran(t)s-ˈgres , tranz- \

|Updated on: 4 Jul 2018

Examples: transgress in a Sentence

Definition of transgress

transgressed; transgressing; transgresses

intransitive verb

1 : to violate a command or law : sin

2 : to go beyond a boundary or limit

transitive verb

1 : to go beyond limits set or prescribed by : violate

transgress divine law

2 : to pass beyond or go over (a limit or boundary)

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transgressive

play \tran(t)s-ˈgre-siv, tranz-\ adjective

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transgressor

play \tran(t)s-ˈgre-sər, tranz-\ noun

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Examples of transgress in a Sentence

He who transgresses must seek forgiveness.
There are legal consequences for companies that transgress the rules.

Recent Examples of transgress from the Web

But not all cancellations are the result of transgressing fans’ expectations.

— jonah engel bromwich, New York Times, "Everyone Is Canceled," 28 June 2018
Ocean’s 8 doesn’t much deviate from this formula; man transgresses, man must suffer.

— hannah giorgis, The Atlantic, "The Sweet Revenge of Ocean’s 8," 12 June 2018
When the lights go out in the Colonies' living spaces, women can transgress.

— refinery29.com, "The Subversive Role Of Religion In The Handmaid's Tale," 16 May 2018
Let those who have transgressed, for now, tell their stories only to each other, perhaps over drinks at a posh place in a lesser Hampton.

— ellen mcgirt, Fortune, "Not Now, Charlie Rose," 26 Apr. 2018
But others wondered if McMaster had transgressed a moral boundary.

— kathryn schulz, The New Yorker, "McMaster and Commander," 23 Apr. 2018
Vietnam stands out of the crowd, meeting six of the well-being targets while transgressing only two planetary boundaries.

— cathleen o'grady, Ars Technica, "If we gave everyone a decent standard of living, could we sustain it?," 6 Feb. 2018
Nonetheless, the 90-year-old jurist asserted, his business-friendly colleagues were now transgressing cardinal principles of the judicial process, overturning a recent precedent and insisting the identity of the speaker was irrelevant.

— glenn c. altschuler, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘We the Corporations,’ by Adam Winkler," 28 Mar. 2018
Anatomy is not destiny in this 75-minute chamber production, which transgresses musical boundaries and challenges old expectations of the genre.

— donna freedman, Anchorage Daily News, "Anchorage Opera’s ‘As One’ explores inner world of a transgender woman," 9 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'transgress.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of transgress

Middle English, from Middle French transgresser, from Latin transgressus, past participle of transgredi to step beyond or across, from trans- + gradi to step — more at grade

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

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