transgress

American  

[trans-gres, tranz-] / trænsˈgrɛs, trænz- /

verb (used without object)

• transgresses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• transgressed,
  past participle,  past
• transgressing
  present participle

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

   Synonyms:

   trespass, err

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verb (used with object)

• transgresses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• transgressed,
  past participle,  past
• transgressing
  present participle

1. to pass over or go beyond (a limit, boundary, etc.).

   to transgress bounds of prudence.

2. to go beyond the limits imposed by (a law, command, etc.); violate; infringe.

   to transgress the will of God.

   Synonyms:

   disobey, contravene

   Antonyms:

   obey

transgress British  

/ trænzˈɡrɛs /

verb

1. to break (a law, rule, etc)

2. to go beyond or overstep (a limit)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• transgressor
  noun
• nontransgressive
  adjective
• transgressive
  adjective
• untransgressed
  adjective
• nontransgressively
  adverb
• transgressively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• transgressing
  present
• transgressed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• transgress
  simple
• transgresses
  simple
• have transgressed
  perfect
• has transgressed
  perfect
• am transgressing
  progressive
• are transgressing
  progressive
• is transgressing
  progressive
• have been transgressing
  perfect progressive
• has been transgressing
  perfect progressive

Past

• transgressed
  simple
• had transgressed
  perfect
• was transgressing
  progressive
• were transgressing
  progressive
• had been transgressing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will transgress
  simple
• will have transgressed
  perfect
• will be transgressing
  progressive
• will have been transgressing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of transgress

First recorded in 1520–30; from 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 becoming ss

Explanation

When you go beyond the boundaries, either physically or morally, you transgress. A river will transgress its banks as it floods, and students who cheat transgress school rules. Transgress sounds like and means nearly the same thing as trespass. When you transgress a rule, you're breaking it. Religions often talk about transgressing: for Christians, breaking a commandment is transgressing against God by violating his wishes. Any transgression is pushing through a boundary: like a neighbor transgressing by letting their dog into your yard: that's a physical and a legal type of transgressing. The dog got into your territory, and the owners broke a rule.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

transgress transgresses transgressed transgressing

Rather, institutional principle and precedent predominate in the criminal courts over those who would transgress them.

From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2022

“It could be another previous life, or some harm done to you, or a lack of self-knowledge that makes us transgress on our worldview,” he said.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 27, 2022

The minister, Mohamed Abdel Atim says it is "a clear message to those who transgress on the Nile".

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2022

Black Image Center, in a sense, is a way to transgress all of these things.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2022

Heraclitus says, “Not even the sun will transgress his orbit but the Erinyes, the ministers of justice, overtake him.”

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

The Lib Dem leader said "we need to know... where any MP transgresses the rules".

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2024

It just said there might be an egregious example “when a state court transgresses the bounds of ordinary judicial review.”

From Salon ● May 11, 2024

But the idea that because an opponent transgresses a norm the standard no longer applies to anyone is a perversion of principle.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 7, 2022

“How do you know who you are when your primal love bond is formed with someone who then transgresses and violates it?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2021

The above illustrations may suffice to show how the Pleonast transgresses the propriety of speech in his conversation.

From Talkers With Illustrations by John Bate

Both productions also transgressed personal boundaries that pushed Panettiere to lows no one should endure, but so many stars growing up in the spotlight unfortunately do.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

When Wales transgressed, Fiji opted for an Armstrong-Ravula penalty to level the half-time scores.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

Battle lines are drawn and immediately transgressed in a play that takes farce out of the bedroom and into administrative corridors and cubicles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2025

“But if you transgressed . . . by trying to present yourself as somewhat above your station intellectually, then that is the end.”

From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2024

She doubted whether she had not transgressed the duty of woman by woman, in betraying her suspicions of Jane Fairfax’s feelings to Frank Churchill.

From "Emma" by Jane Austen

“Already in that early school exercise, he was transgressing all the principles that we knew.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2024

On the other hand, with “Alice Sadie Celine,” we are not talking about transgressing the long-gone mores of the 1950s and ’60s.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 25, 2023

The lawsuit also claims that Chop’t did not dispute the fine, which was for transgressing a rule that food service establishments must “operate their premises in such a way as to avoid imminent health hazards.”

From Washington Times ● Nov. 28, 2023

The summer of 2023, which was the hottest in recorded history, served as a potent reminder of the consequences of transgressing planetary limits.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2023

He mentally patted himself on the back for this masterpiece of statement, transgressing the strict truth by no more than perfectly allowable omission.

From The Honour of the Clintons by Archibald Marshall