Meaning & use
transigent
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Meanings
adjectivecomparablerareformal
Willing to give way on some points in order to reach an agreement.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a transigent negotiator.
Patterns
- a transigent attitude
- transigent in something
The transigent negotiator offered a compromise on the last point.
Both sides were more transigent than anyone had predicted.
Her transigent manner helped to settle the dispute.
adjectivecomparablerare
Ready to make concessions and not insisting on strict demands.
Grammar: Describes people or positions; the opposite of intransigent.
Patterns
- a transigent position
- transigent toward someone
The landlord took a transigent line and allowed the late payment.
A transigent union might have avoided the strike.
He grew more transigent as the deadline approached.
Word forms
| comparative | more transigent |
|---|---|
| superlative | most transigent |
Common combinations
- transigent attitude
- Her transigent attitude eased the talks.
- transigent position
- The board adopted a transigent position on pay.
- a transigent negotiator
- A transigent negotiator can save a failing deal.
- remain transigent
- The delegates remained transigent through the night.
Synonyms and how they differ
- conciliatory
- Conciliatory is the common word for a willingness to calm a dispute, and it is much more usual than transigent.
- compromising
- Compromising can also mean damaging to one's reputation, so transigent is clearer in one sense but far rarer.
- flexible
- Flexible is everyday English and suggests being adaptable in general, while transigent is about concessions in a dispute.
- accommodating
- Accommodating suggests being helpful to another person's wishes, while transigent is about settling a dispute.
Opposites
Word family
- intransigent adjective
- refusing to change your views or compromise
- intransigence noun
- stubborn refusal to compromise
- intransigently adverb
- in a stubborn, uncompromising way
Commonly confused: transigent or intransigent? transigent or transient?
transigent vs intransigent
Intransigent is the common word and means the opposite: unwilling to compromise. Do not use it where you mean transigent.
transigent vs transient
Transient means lasting only a short time. It sounds close to transigent but has an entirely different meaning.
Practice
Which word is the opposite of transigent?
Choose one answer.
Transigent means ready to compromise, and intransigent means refusing to. The other three are near-synonyms of transigent, not opposites.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “transigent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.