Standard Lemma guide

transcendentalism

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The transcending, or going beyond, empiricism, and ascertaining a priori the fundamental principles of human knowledge.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Ambitious and imaginative vagueness in thought, imagery, or diction.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality (associated with Kant); philosophy which stresses intuition and spirituality (associated with Ralph Waldo Emerson); transcendental character or quality.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century who were loosely bound together by adherence to an idealistic system of thought based on a belief in the essential supremacy of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

any system of philosophy emphasizing the intuitive and spiritual above the empirical and material

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: transcendental philosophy

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: philosophy

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English transcendental Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English transcendentalism From transcendental + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

35 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: transcendentalisme — the transcending, or going beyond, empiricism, and ascertaining a priori the fundamental principles of human knowledge
  • French: transcendentalisme — the transcending, or going beyond, empiricism, and ascertaining a priori the fundamental principles of human knowledge
  • Greek: υπερβατισμός (ypervatismós) — the transcending, or going beyond, empiricism, and ascertaining a priori the fundamental principles of human knowledge
  • Hindi: अनुभवातीतवाद (anubhvātītvād) — the transcending, or going beyond, empiricism, and ascertaining a priori the fundamental principles of human knowledge
  • Hindi: अतींद्रियवाद (atīndriyvād) — the transcending, or going beyond, empiricism, and ascertaining a priori the fundamental principles of human knowledge
  • Hindi: इंद्रियातीतवाद (indriyātītvād) — the transcending, or going beyond, empiricism, and ascertaining a priori the fundamental principles of human knowledge
  • Hindi: प्रागनुभविकवाद (prāgnubhvikvād) — the transcending, or going beyond, empiricism, and ascertaining a priori the fundamental principles of human knowledge
  • Hindi: अलौकिकता (alaukiktā) — the transcending, or going beyond, empiricism, and ascertaining a priori the fundamental principles of human knowledge
  • Catalan: transcendentalisme — ambitious and imaginative vagueness in thought, imagery, or diction
  • Catalan: transcendentalisme — a philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality
  • Chinese Mandarin: 超驗主義 /超验主义 (chāoyàn zhǔyì) — a philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality
  • Chinese Mandarin: 超越論 /超越论 (chāoyuèlùn) — a philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality
  • German: Transzendentalismus — a philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality
  • Japanese: 超絶主義 (chōzetsushugi) — a philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality
  • Japanese: 超越主義 (chōetsushugi) — a philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality
  • Kazakh: трансцендентализм (transsendentalizm) — a philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality
  • Korean: 초월주의 (chowoljuui) — a philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality
  • Kyrgyz: трансцендентализм (transtsendentalizm) — a philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality
  • Latin: transcendentalismus — a philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality
  • Polish: transcendentalizm — a philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality
  • Portuguese: transcendentalismo — a philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality
  • Turkish: transandantalizm — a philosophy which holds that reasoning is key to understanding reality
  • Chinese Mandarin: 超驗主義 /超验主义 (chāoyàn zhǔyì) — a movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century
  • Chinese Mandarin: 超越主義 /超越主义 (chāoyuè zhǔyì) — a movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century
  • German: Transzendentalismus — a movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century
  • Japanese: 超絶主義 (chōzetsushugi) — a movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century
  • Japanese: 超越主義 (chōetsushugi) — a movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century
  • Kazakh: трансцендентализм (transsendentalizm) — a movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century
  • Korean: 초월주의 (chowoljuui) — a movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century
  • Kyrgyz: трансцендентализм (transtsendentalizm) — a movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century
  • Latin: transcendentalismus — a movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century
  • Polish: transcendentalizm — a movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century
  • Portuguese: transcendentalismo — a movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century
  • Swedish: transcendentalism — a movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century
  • Turkish: transandantalizm — a movement of writers and philosophers in New England in the 19th century