VIOLATE Synonyms: 107 Similar and Opposite Words

violate

verb

ˈvī-ə-ˌlāt

Definition of violate

as in to break

to fail to keep you've violated the company's rule against smoking within 30 feet of the building

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to desecrate

to treat (a sacred place or object) shamefully or with great disrespect the invaders violated the temple by using it to stable their horses

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to rape

to engage in sexual activity and especially intercourse with a person unwilling or unable to give consent criminal statutes delineating acts that constitute violating another person

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of violate Reddington said his first priority is arguing later this month that a retrial would violate Clancy's constitutional protection against double jeopardy because the mistrial was declared over the defense's objection. — Bryan Llenas , Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2026 That would result in lesser penalties than criminal charges that Castro had violated people's constitutional rights under color of law. — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 10 Sep. 2026 The State Ethics Commission has fined two Republican groups linked to the defunct First Liberty Building & Loan for violating campaign finance laws. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 10 Sep. 2026 Grossman said one employee got her charges dismissed after contending in a lawsuit that her Fourth Amendment rights were violated. — ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for violate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for violate

Verb

The Durzi addition should also help the Rangers break pucks out of their defensive zone at five-on-five.

— Peter Baugh, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
After enduring a record-shattering heat wave this spring, Southern California continued to break temperature records this week when Long Beach and Anaheim reached a blistering 107 degrees and Escondido hit 112 degrees.

— Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of break

Verb

But as building efforts have ramped up, the administration has run into opposition from landowners, environmental groups, and Native American tribes who say construction is violating property rights and desecrating sacred Indigenous sites.

— Mikella Schuettler, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
The real end of Oak Street comes not from the feet and chompers of the dinosaurs but from a moviemaker who revives the idyllic 1980s only to desecrate them with wokeness.

— Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of desecrate

Verb

In one case, documented as PF006, the report noted that the victim, who had an intellectual disability, was detained by the Taliban in her garden and taken to a security checkpoint where she was raped.

— Ruchi Kumar, NPR, 8 Sep. 2026
Though the events at Bucha, where over 400 civilians were murdered, some after being tortured and raped, fall within the timeframe covered by most of the books discussed here, only Harding deals with them in any depth.

— Nick Holdstock, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of rape

Verb

After Israel destroyed Jenin refugee camp during the Second Intifada in 2002, a young girl looked into Mohammad Bakri’s camera and said that Palestinians would live proudly as eagles and die standing like lions.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
That’s because key refineries that produce it have been knocked offline or destroyed, both in Eastern Europe — where the Ukraine-Russia war still rages — and in the Middle East.

— Steve Kopack, NBC news, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of destroy

Verb

An attack on two women outside a Lavender Heights nightclub early Monday, days after a member of the city’s LGBTQ community was assaulted, stoked new safety concerns in the midtown Sacramento neighborhood.

— Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Spence, who pleaded guilty to assault in aid of racketeering and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, could face between 24 and 27-and-a-half years behind bars.

— John Annese, New York Daily News, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of assault

Verb

Two years ago he was suspended for three months by the Cricket Regulator for betting on cricket between 2017 and 2019, contravening the game’s rules.

— Paul Newman, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
The ban contravenes advice from the World Health Organization, which advises against travel or trade restrictions with Congo, where officials are currently struggling to contain a large ⁠outbreak of Ebola.

— Reuters, NBC news, 19 July 2026

Definition of contravene

Verb

Happy anniversary from a California native who fell in love with the coast at first sight, and shame on those who would defile it.

— Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
To defile the legacy of his family and that family name is sickening, and turns my stomach.

— Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 16 July 2026

Definition of defile

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violable

violate

violated

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“Violate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/violate. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of violate

verb

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