transgressive

1 of 2

adjective

trans·​gres·​sive -esiv How to pronounce transgressive (audio)
-sēv also -səv
1
archaic : disposed or tending to transgress, violate, or go beyond a limit
2
: progressively overlapping or passing over or beyond
a suite of transgressive sediments
the deposits of transgressive seas
3
a
: going beyond the limits set by the ancestral condition usually because of segregation and recombination of polygenic factors in the progeny of a hybrid
transgressive variation
transgressive inheritance
b
of a plant : being at different stages of the life history a part of more than one stratum of the community of which it is a member
transgressively
-sə̇vlē
-li
adverb

transgressive

2 of 2

noun

"
plural -s
: a transgressive element of an ecological community

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Latin transgressus + English -ive

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Cite this Entry

“Transgressive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transgressive. Accessed 14 Dec. 2025.

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