transcendental: Meaning and Definition of

tran•scen•den•tal

Pronunciation: (tran"sen-den'tl, -sun-), [key]
— adj.
  1. transcendent, surpassing, or superior.
  2. being beyond ordinary or common experience, thought, or belief; supernatural.
  3. abstract or metaphysical.
  4. idealistic, lofty, or extravagant.
    1. beyond the contingent and accidental in human experience, but not beyond all human knowledge. Cf. transcendent (def. 4b).
    2. pertaining to certain theories, etc., explaining what is objective as the contribution of the mind.
    3. Kantianism.of, pertaining to, based upon, or concerned with a priori elements in experience, which condition human knowledge. Cf. transcendent (def. 4b).
—n.
  1. See transcendental number.
  2. categories that have universal application, as being, one, true, good.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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