Meaning & use
violate
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To act against a law, rule or agreement.
Grammar: Takes an object: violate a rule.
Patterns
- violate a law/rule/agreement
The company violated safety regulations.
Drivers who violate the speed limit will be fined.
The two countries accused each other of violating the treaty.
verbtransitive
To treat something that deserves respect, such as privacy or a person's rights, in a harmful way.
Grammar: Often takes abstract nouns like rights, trust or privacy.
Patterns
- violate someone's privacy/rights
Reading her diary violated her privacy.
The policy violates workers' rights.
He felt that the lie violated their trust.
verbtransitiveformal
To enter or disturb a sacred or protected place by force or disrespect.
Grammar: Used mainly with places and objects considered holy.
Patterns
- violate a sacred place
Vandals violated the ancient tomb.
The soldiers were accused of violating the temple.
Trespassers violated the quiet of the cemetery.
Word forms
| third person singular | violates |
|---|---|
| past tense | violated |
| past participle | violated |
| -ing form | violating |
Common combinations
- violate the law
- Dumping waste there violates the law.
- violate human rights
- The regime was accused of violating human rights.
- violate someone's privacy
- The app violated users' privacy.
- violate a contract
- Late delivery violates the contract.
- violate a rule
- She violated the dress code.
Synonyms and how they differ
- break
- Break is the everyday word for rules, while violate sounds more formal and serious.
- breach
- Breach is common for contracts, security and trust, and is about the same strength as violate.
- infringe
- Infringe suits rights, copyrights and limits, and sounds more legal.
- disobey
- Disobey applies to people who ignore orders, not to abstract things like privacy.
Opposites
Word family
- violation noun
- an act that breaks a rule
- violator noun
- a person who breaks a rule
- violative adjective
- involving a violation, formal
- inviolable adjective
- that must never be broken
Commonly confused: violate or violent?
violate vs violent
Violent means using physical force, while violate means breaking a rule or boundary.
Practice
The factory was fined because it ___ environmental laws.
Choose one answer.
A fine follows breaking a law, so violated fits. Obeyed, respected and followed would mean it did the right thing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “violate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.