Synonyms of transgression

transgression

noun

tran(t)s-ˈgre-shən 

1

as in violation

a breaking of a moral or legal code

acts that are transgressions against the laws of civilized societies everywhere

Synonyms & Similar Words

• violation
• crime
• sin
• felony
• trespass
• wrongdoing
• misdeed
• sinfulness
• error
• breach
• debt
• offense
• lawbreaking
• malefaction
• misdoing
• misconduct
• infringement
• misdemeanor
• misfeasance
• hate crime
• wickedness
• abuse
• corruption
• immorality
• fault
• iniquity
• criminality
• bias crime
• illegality
• peccadillo
• licentiousness
• unlawfulness
• foible
• depravity
• vice
• debauchery
• lawlessness
• break
• downfall
• iniquitousness
• fall
• descent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• innocence
• blamelessness
• righteousness
• virtue
• morality
• impeccability
• goodness
• noncrime
• guiltlessness
• faultlessness
• virtuousness
• irreproachability

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• violation
• infringement
• breach
• infraction
• trespass
• contravention
• sin
• offense
• misconduct
• misdemeanor
• disregard
• ignoring
• forgetting
• neglect
• misfeasance
• intrusion
• wrong
• invasion
• delinquency
• encroachment
• misprision
• nonobservance
• overlooking
• dereliction

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• observance
• respecting
• noninfringement
• upholding

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of transgression

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

The most bitter setback came when the state largely just stood down, in 2020 and since, after the Madigan transgressions created a mandate for transformative change. — David Greising, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026

For me, the larger question is not whether artistic behavior excuses transgression, but how to hold artistic achievement and ethical accountability together without allowing one to erase the other. — Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 3 Aug. 2026