transgression

noun

tran(t)s-ˈgre-shən How to pronounce transgression (audio)
Definition of transgressionnext
1
as in violation
a breaking of a moral or legal code acts that are transgressions against the laws of civilized societies everywhere

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2
as in infringement
a failure to uphold the requirements of law, duty, or obligation a dying woman asking for divine forgiveness for a lifetime of transgressions

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of transgression Invoking a deliberately vague notion of licensee’s ‘public interest obligations,’ the Chairman has created a regulatory regime in which any broadcaster, including ABC, can be found guilty of transgressions at any time for seemingly any thing. — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 17 Sep. 2026 The reason that's so significant is multifaceted, but his main transgression and the thing that ultimately lost him his job was the recent skid of the once-proud FSU football team. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2026 But for those who find (and in some cases may be slightly mystified as to why) that there is a nagging, needling value to Schrader’s ongoing project of tussling with grandiose dilemmas of transgression and deliverance, there is some new news here. — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 4 Sep. 2026 Any transgression of new standards of speech and behavior could put someone at risk of social banishment, in the truly despotic shape of cancellation. — Charles Finch, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for transgression
Recent Examples of Synonyms for transgression
  1. violation
  2. infringement
  3. crime
  4. sin
Noun
  • Denny Hamlin served a safety violation after a tire bounced out of his team’s pit box, sending him to the back of the field temporarily.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Myriad violations, from food that should’ve been trashed weeks earlier to filthy equipment, befouled the state inspection of a West Miami-Dade supermarket this week.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of violation
Noun
  • The ruling came as part of a widening patent infringement dispute with Halozyme Therapeutics over the best-selling cancer treatment.
    — Ed Silverman, STAT, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The defendants — Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Publishing and Kobalt Music Publishing America — were notified in writing of the infringement in August, the lawsuit says.
    — Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of infringement
Noun
  • New York City has policies that limit local law enforcement from sharing certain information with federal officers or honoring detainer requests unless immigrants have been convicted of violent crimes.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
  • All three are crime drama-thrillers, the most exportable and ordered of program types, but all three reject tropes of the genre.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of crime
Noun
  • Now Trump’s folks are rounding up and deporting people who were jailed in their home country for the sin of defending democracy.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
  • De Biase explained how a snake is associated with Eve and the story of sin in the Bible — but the shoe reframes the connotation of the snake.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of sin

Browse Nearby Words

transgressing
transgression
transgressions
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Cite this Entry

“Transgression.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/transgression. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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