What does "violate" mean?
To break or disregard (a rule or convention).
Violate
/ˈvaɪəˌleɪt/ adj, verb, slang
adj, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To break or disregard (a rule or convention).
- Grammar: violate is listed as adj, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: breach, abuse, act against, adulterate.
- Useful contrasts: abiding, observable sign, observed entity.
- Usage evidence: Those who violate the rules will be punished.
How to use "violate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "violate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "violate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "violate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "violate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "violate" is acting as adj, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "breach" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "violate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To break or disregard (a rule or convention). transitive
"Drinking-and-driving violates the law."
- 2 destroy wordnet
- 3 To rape. transitive
"That Antonia whom you violated, was your Sister! That Elvira whom you murdered, gave you birth! Tremble, abandoned Hypocrite! Inhuman Parricide! Incestuous Ravisher!"
- 4 destroy and strip of its possession wordnet
- 5 To cite (a person) for a parole violation. slang, transitive
"If you don't have a job, you can't pay the money, then you get violated and have to go back to prison."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises wordnet
- 7 force (someone) to have sex against their will wordnet
- 8 violate the sacred character of a place or language wordnet
- 9 fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Subject to violation. archaic, poetic
"[I]t was declared and resolved to be an undouted ancient standing order, not to be violate, and so was entred and established upon the booke."
- 2 Synonym of violated. archaic, poetic
"My Fathers blood, Agneſias languiſhing griefs, my violate marriage, and this late contempt, raiſed ſeveral paſſions, which like ſo many torrents, overthrew all obſtacles that withſtood the rapacity of their courſe, […]"
- 3 Morally impure. archaic, obsolete, poetic
"The bruite of which her rare perfections ran, […] laſtly reſted in the princes eares, / Who […] / Inuades my caſtell when I was at reſt, / And bare my daughter thence with violate hands, / Vnto his pallace where ſhe doth remaine, […]"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Those who violate the rules will be punished."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "violate"?
Common synonyms include: breach, abuse, act against, adulterate, afflict, aggrieve.
How do you use "violate" in a sentence?
Those who violate the rules will be punished.
How do you pronounce "violate"?
Pronounced /ˈvaɪəˌleɪt/.
Etymology
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.