transgress
verb
trans·gress tran(t)s-ˈgres 
tranz-
transgressed; transgressing; transgresses
intransitive verb
1
: to violate a command or law : sin
2
: to go beyond a boundary or limit
transitive verb
1
: to go beyond limits set or prescribed by : violate
transgress divine law
2
: to pass beyond or go over (a limit or boundary)
transgressive
tran(t)s-ˈgre-siv
adjective tranz-
transgressor
tran(t)s-ˈgre-sər
noun tranz-
Synonyms
- err
- fall
- offend
- sin
- stray
- trespass
- wander
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
He who transgresses must seek forgiveness. There are legal consequences for companies that transgress the rules.
Recent Examples on the Web Black Image Center, in a sense, is a way to transgress all of these things. 
Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2022 In fact, his impulse toward disobedience created something of a rut for him in the chaotic mid-Nineties under Boris Yeltsin: when everything is permitted, there is nothing to transgress. Jennifer Wilson, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022 Bad teachers are rarely held accountable, but the public school bureaucracy seems to be less tolerant of teachers who transgress against the Democratic-union establishment. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 14 Oct. 2021 Revision can be retrospectively kind to artists, especially to those who transgress the societal mores of their day. Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 24 Aug. 2021 Politics, for example, cannot shed light on why employees are willing to transgress and endanger their job security yet may fail to go to the polls and vote. Caterina Bulgarella, Forbes, 24 June 2021 Nonetheless, to act violently on the basis of such fictions – and to transgress against the humanity of others for nothing at all – is perhaps the most nihilistic act of them all. Ani Kokobobo, The Conversation, 13 Jan. 2021 Through it all, Chicagoans went to the movies, usually to escape the realities of the day, sometimes to transgress a little or to see what everybody was talking about. Michael Phillips, chicagotribune.com, 31 Dec. 2020 At times, the legislative or executive branches may transgress the boundaries the people established in the Constitution. Brian Hagedorn, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 15 Oct. 2020 See More
Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2022 In fact, his impulse toward disobedience created something of a rut for him in the chaotic mid-Nineties under Boris Yeltsin: when everything is permitted, there is nothing to transgress. Jennifer Wilson, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022 Bad teachers are rarely held accountable, but the public school bureaucracy seems to be less tolerant of teachers who transgress against the Democratic-union establishment. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 14 Oct. 2021 Revision can be retrospectively kind to artists, especially to those who transgress the societal mores of their day. Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 24 Aug. 2021 Politics, for example, cannot shed light on why employees are willing to transgress and endanger their job security yet may fail to go to the polls and vote. Caterina Bulgarella, Forbes, 24 June 2021 Nonetheless, to act violently on the basis of such fictions – and to transgress against the humanity of others for nothing at all – is perhaps the most nihilistic act of them all. Ani Kokobobo, The Conversation, 13 Jan. 2021 Through it all, Chicagoans went to the movies, usually to escape the realities of the day, sometimes to transgress a little or to see what everybody was talking about. Michael Phillips, chicagotribune.com, 31 Dec. 2020 At times, the legislative or executive branches may transgress the boundaries the people established in the Constitution. Brian Hagedorn, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 15 Oct. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Middle French transgresser, from Latin transgressus, past participle of transgredi to step beyond or across, from trans- + gradi to step — more at grade entry 1
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Legal Definition
transgress
transitive verb
trans·gress tranz-ˈgres, trans-
1
: to go beyond limits set or prescribed by : violate
2
: to pass beyond or go over (a limit or boundary)
intransitive verb
1
: to violate a law
2
: to go beyond a boundary or limit
transgress
verb
1
as in to wander
to commit an offense I didn't realize I was transgressing when I told your sister she looked like she had lost weight Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- wander
- fall
- offend
- stray
- trespass
- sin
- violate
- err
- breach
- infringe
- fall from grace
- break
- break the law
- lapse
- backslide
- mess up
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- justify
- forgive
- repent
- regret
- pardon
- rue
2
as in to violate
to fail to keep don't even think about transgressing the drug laws of that Asian country, for punishments are severe and there's nothing that our government can do to intervene Synonyms & Similar Words
- violate
- break
- contravene
- breach
- offend
- disobey
- fracture
- traduce
- ignore
- flout
- disregard
- neglect
- rebel
- infringe (on or upon)
- defy
- resist
- overlook
- slight
- pass over
- blow off
- dismiss
- tune out
- withstand
- scorn
- overpass
- pooh
- shrug off
- pooh-pooh
- wink (at)
- brush (off)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- follow
- obey
- observe
- comply (with)
- serve
- conform (to)
- mind
- submit (to)
- yield (to)
- hear
- listen (to)
- attend
- notice
- regard
- watch
- mark
- surrender (to)
- defer (to)
- note
- heed