Corollary 9.6.1.19. Let $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ be an $\infty $-category, let $W$ be a collection of morphisms of $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ which is closed under isomorphism, and let $\kappa $ be an uncountable regular cardinal. Then a morphism $f$ of $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$ belongs to the $\kappa $-small transfinite closure of $W$ if and only if $f$ is either an isomorphism or a $\kappa $-small transfinite composition of morphisms of $W$.
Proof. Assume that $f$ belongs to the $\kappa $-small transfinite closure of $W$; we will show that $f$ is either an isomorphism or a $\kappa $-small transfinite composition of morphisms of $W$ (the converse is clear, since the $\kappa $-small transfinite closure of $W$ contains all isomorphisms: see Example 9.6.1.8). Let $W^{+}$ be the union of $W$ with the collection of all identity morphisms of $\operatorname{\mathcal{C}}$. Applying Proposition 9.6.1.16, we see that $f$ is a $\kappa $-small transfinite composition of morphisms of $W^{+}$. If $f$ is not an isomorphism, then Proposition 9.6.1.18 guarantees that $f$ is a $\kappa $-small transfinite composition of morphisms which belong to $W^{+}$ and are not isomorphisms, and therefore belong to $W$. $\square$