What does "transcendental" mean?
A transcendentalist.
Transcendental
/ˌtɹænsɛnˈdɛntəl/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A transcendentalist.
- Grammar: transcendental is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: a cut above, above, absolute, abstract.
- Useful contrasts: algebraic, algebraic function, algebraic number.
- Usage evidence: As π is transcendental, the quadrature of a circle - a classical problem in geometry - is impossible.
How to use "transcendental"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "transcendental" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "transcendental" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A transcendentalist. obsolete
- 2 Any one of the three transcendental properties of being: truth, beauty or goodness, which respectively are the ideals of science, art and religion and the principal subjects of the study of logic, aesthetics and ethics. Christian, plural-normally
"In deference to Christian usage we can say that the transcendentals constitute the Logos within which everything has its being and according to which everything is made."
Adjective
- 1 Concerned with the a priori or intuitive basis of knowledge, independent of experience.
"The best way to demonstrate the possibility of something is to show its actuality, for actuality implies possibility. At least since Kant, transcendental philosophies have been on the scene. However, such simple demonstration of the possibility of transcendental philosophy has not been effective and is not likely to be so — so strong is the presumption that transcendental philosophy just could not be possible, or, if it was possible earlier, it is not possible now."
- 2 Superior; surpassing all others; extraordinary; transcendent.
- 3 Mystical or supernatural.
- 4 Not algebraic (i.e., not the root of any polynomial that has positive degree and rational coefficients).
"The theory of transcendental numbers was originated by Liouville in his famous memoir^† of 1844 in which he obtained, for the first time, a class, très-étendue, as it was described in the title of the paper, of numbers that satisfy no algebraic equation with integer coefficients."
- 5 That contains elements that are not algebraic.
"2006, Steven Roman, Field Theory, Springer, 2nd Edition, Graduate Texts in Mathematics 158, page 108, Suppose that F<E is purely transcendental. Show that any simple extension of F contained in E (but not equal to F) is transcendental over F."
Adjective
- 1 existing outside of or not in accordance with nature wordnet
- 2 of or characteristic of a system of philosophy emphasizing the intuitive and spiritual above the empirical and material wordnet
Example
"As π is transcendental, the quadrature of a circle - a classical problem in geometry - is impossible."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "transcendental"?
Common synonyms include: a cut above, above, absolute, abstract, abstract, abstruse.
How do you use "transcendental" in a sentence?
As π is transcendental, the quadrature of a circle - a classical problem in geometry - is impossible.
How do you pronounce "transcendental"?
Pronounced /ˌtɹænsɛnˈdɛntəl/.