violation

noun

vi·​o·​la·​tion ˌvī-ə-ˈlā-shən 

: the act of violating : the state of being violated: such as

a

: infringement, transgression

specifically : an infringement of the rules in sports that is less serious than a foul and usually involves technicalities of play

b

: an act of irreverence or desecration : profanation

c

: disturbance, interruption

d

: rape entry 1 sense 1, ravishment

Synonyms

• offence
• crime
• sin
• felony

Examples of violation in a Sentence

a serious violation of the law

A second violation was called on the basketball player.

He was arrested for violation of his parole.

The group monitors human rights violations.

trying to prevent violation of human rights

Recent Examples on the Web

Getty Images The Cleveland Guardians are still waiting for results of a Major League Baseball investigation into potential gambling violations by two Cleveland pitchers. —Bernie Pleskoff, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025

Fresard advised victims to report any potential violations of a protective order. —Nushrat Rahman, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2025

In November 2024, officials shut down the city’s GULAG History Museum, established in 2001, claiming fire-safety violations. —Yegor Mostovshikov, The Dial, 9 Sep. 2025

The simplest left-right symmetric scenario is the Pati-Salam model, which would have no parity violation, but parity violation is robustly observed. —Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 9 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing violation

• in violation of
• moving violation

Rhymes for violation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

violation

noun

vi·​o·​la·​tion ˌvī-ə-ˈlā-shən 

: an act or an instance of violating : the state of being violated