Transcend

//tɹæn(t)ˈsɛnd// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To pass beyond the limits of something. transitive

    "such personal popes, emperors, or elective kings, as shall transcend their limits"

  2. 2
    be superior or better than some standard wordnet
  3. 3
    To surpass, as in intensity or power; to excel. transitive

    "How much her worth transcended all her kind."

  4. 4
    be greater in scope or size than some standard wordnet
  5. 5
    To climb; to mount. obsolete

    "lights in the heavens transcending the region of the clouds"

Synonyms

All synonyms
exceedexceedoverstepsurpassascendbeat

Example

More examples

"To be human we must transcend our animal nature."

Etymology

From Middle English transcenden, from Old French transcender, from Latin transcendere (“to climb over, step over, surpass, transcend”), from trans (“over”) + scandere (“to climb”); see scan; compare ascend, descend.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.