Transcendental refers to things that lie beyond the practical experience of ordinary people, and cannot be discovered or understood by ordinary reasoning.
...the transcendental nature of God.
transcendental in British English
(ˌtrænsɛnˈdɛntəl)
adjective
1.
transcendent, superior, or surpassing
2. (in the philosophy of Kant)
a.
(of a judgment or logical deduction) being both synthetic and a priori
b.
of or relating to knowledge of the presuppositions of thought
3. philosophy
beyond our experience of phenomena, although not beyond potential knowledge
4. theology
surpassing the natural plane of reality or knowledge; supernatural or mystical
Derived forms
transcendentality (ˌtranscendenˈtality)
noun
transcendentally (ˌtranscenˈdentally)
adverb
transcendental in American English
(ˌtrænsɛnˈdɛntəl)
adjective
1.
a.
transcendent (sense 1)
b.
UNRESOLVED CROSS REF
2.
abstract; metaphysical
3.
of or having to do with transcendentalism
4.
in Kantian philosophy, based on those elements of experience which derive not from sense data but from the inherent organizing functions of the mind, and which are the necessary conditions of human knowledge; transcending sense experience but not knowledge
5. Ancient Mathematics
a.
not capable of being a root of any algebraic equation with rational coefficients
b.
of, pertaining to, or being a function, as a logarithm, trigonometric function, exponential, etc., that is not expressible algebraically in terms of the variables and constants
see also algebraic (sense 2)
Derived forms
transcendentally (ˌtranscenˈdentally)
adverb
Word origin
ML transcendentalis
Examples of 'transcendental' in a sentence
transcendental
Shortly following his mother's death, he had gone to a monastery in Nottinghamshire for a week of yogic transcendental meditation.
Aldiss, Brian SOMEWHERE EAST OF LIFE (2002)
Rational like integers or fractions, irrational like algebra or transcendental numbers.
Robert Wilson THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS (2002)
She appeared to be in a state of transcendental well-being, wholly aglow with radiant emanations of health.
Robert Silverberg THE LONGEST WAY HOME (2002)
All related terms of 'transcendental'
transcendental number
a number or quantity that is real but nonalgebraic, that is, one that is not a root of any polynomial with rational coefficients such as π or e
transcendental argument
an argument designed to make explicit the conditions under which a certain kind of knowledge is possible , esp those of Kant
transcendental function
a function that is not capable of expression in terms of a finite number of arithmetical operations , such as sin x
transcendental idealism
the Kantian doctrine that reality consists not of appearances, but of some other order of being whose existence can be inferred from the nature of human reason
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental meditation is a kind of meditation in which people mentally relax by silently repeating special words over and over again. The abbreviation → TM is also used.