Transgress

//tɹænzˈɡɹɛs// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To exceed or overstep some limit or boundary. transitive

    "surpassing common faith, transgressing nature's law"

  2. 2
    pass beyond (limits or boundaries) wordnet
  3. 3
    To act in violation of some law. transitive

    "For man will hearken to his glozing lies, And easily transgress the sole command."

  4. 4
    commit a sin; violate a law of God or a moral law wordnet
  5. 5
    To commit an offense; to sin. intransitive

    "Why give you peace to this untemperate beast That hath so long transgressed you?"

Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises wordnet
  2. 7
    To spread over land along a shoreline; to inundate. intransitive
  3. 8
    spread over land, especially along a subsiding shoreline wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
sinadvanceadvance uponblotbreachbreach

Example

More examples

"You think you can transgress the law?"

Etymology

From Middle English transgressen, from Old French transgresser and Latin transgressus, past participle of transgredior.

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