ENGLISH
REFERENCE

violate

v.
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈvaɪəɫeɪt// UK //vˈaɪəleɪt// vi·o·late Academic Archaic Literary Slang

v. to break a rule, a law, or a promise. It can also mean to treat a person or a private place without respect.

v. to break or fail to comply with a law, agreement, or principle; to treat a person or sacred place with disrespect or force.


SIMPLE

The company had to pay a fine because they violated the law.

CONTEXTUAL

The new security cameras were removed after residents complained that they violated their right to privacy.

COMPLEX

International observers noted that the military intervention appeared to violate several established treaties regarding territorial sovereignty and the protection of non-combatants.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English violaten (“to defile, render impure”), from violat(e) (“defiled, desecrated”, also used as the past participle of violaten) + -en, borrowed from Latin violātus, perfect passive participle of violō (“to treat with violence (whether bodily or mental)”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Ultimately from vīs (“strength, power, force, violence”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English violat, from Classical Latin violātus.

Usage

The verb is transitive and requires a direct object, typically a noun representing a rule, boundary, or person.

Pitfall

he violated from the ruleshe violated the rulesViolate is a transitive verb and does not take a preposition like 'from' or 'against' before its object.

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