Meaning & use
violater
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person or thing that breaks a rule, law, or agreement.
Grammar: Countable: use a/an or a plural — a violater, several violaters.
Patterns
- a violater of something
- a repeat violater
- be a violater
The city fines any violater of the parking rules.
He was named a violater of the trade agreement.
Repeat violaters may lose their license.
nouncountable
A person who breaks a promise or fails to respect something such as privacy or a right.
Grammar: Often followed by 'of' plus the thing that was broken: a violater of privacy.
Patterns
- a violater of someone's privacy
- a violater of human rights
The newspaper was called a violater of personal privacy.
Companies that misuse data are treated as violaters of the law.
Word forms
| plural | violaters |
|---|
Common combinations
- a violater of the rules
- Officials described him as a violater of the rules.
- a repeat violater
- Repeat violaters face bigger fines.
- a human rights violater
- The report listed several human rights violaters.
- a flagrant violater
- The team was a flagrant violater of the salary cap.
Synonyms and how they differ
- offender
- The normal everyday word for someone who breaks a law; it fits general crime contexts better than 'violater'.
- breaker
- Used in fixed phrases like 'rule breaker'; it is more informal and less legal-sounding.
- infringer
- A technical, legal word used mostly for rights such as copyright or patents.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: violater or violator? violater or violence?
violater vs violator
This is the same word with the more common American spelling; 'violater' is the rarer variant.
violater vs violence
A different noun meaning harmful physical force; it sounds similar but has no connection to breaking rules.
Practice
Which sentence uses the word correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Violater' is a countable noun for a person who breaks rules, so 'a violater of the safety rules' fits. 'Violation' is the act itself, not the person, and 'violate' is a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “violater”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.