vi·o·late
ˈvī-ə-ˌlāt 
violated; violating
2
: to do harm to the person or especially the chastity of
specifically
: rape sense 1
3
: to fail to show proper respect for : profane
violate a shrine
Synonyms
Examples of violate in a Sentence
Verb
He was arrested for violating his parole.
The company violated its customers' privacy.
She was attacked and violated by an unknown intruder.
Recent Examples on the Web
Emily Price, PCMAG, 6 Apr. 2024
That failure may have violated ethics rules, legal experts say.
—Robert Faturechi, ProPublica, 5 Apr. 2024
That same year the Supreme Court decided Hill violated professional rules of conduct and committed criminal battery, and suspended Hill's law license for a month.
—Brittany Carloni, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Apr. 2024
The former president's lawyers had argued that the wording of the statute of the Espionage Act that he is charged with violating is unconstitutionally vague.
—Greg Allen, NPR, 4 Apr. 2024
Google is accusing the developers of breaking its terms of service and violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
—Lauren Feiner, The Verge, 4 Apr. 2024
Trump faces 32 counts of violating the Espionage Act, each for a specific classified document that he is alleged to have illegally retained at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home and private club, after his presidency ended.
—Perry Stein, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Martinez’s lawsuit argued Market Basket violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and the New Hampshire Law Against Discrimination, the complaint shows.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
However, the man is accused of violating federal law, according to a Sept. 14 indictment charging him with unlawful possession of a firearm in a school zone in violation of the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990.
—Julia Marnin, Sacramento Bee, 26 Mar. 2024
Verb
OpenAI and Google reportedly used YouTube videos to help train their AI models, potentially violating the creators’ copyrights of those videos.
—Emily Price, PCMAG, 6 Apr. 2024
That failure may have violated ethics rules, legal experts say.
—Robert Faturechi, ProPublica, 5 Apr. 2024
That same year the Supreme Court decided Hill violated professional rules of conduct and committed criminal battery, and suspended Hill's law license for a month.
—Brittany Carloni, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Apr. 2024
The former president's lawyers had argued that the wording of the statute of the Espionage Act that he is charged with violating is unconstitutionally vague.
—Greg Allen, NPR, 4 Apr. 2024
Google is accusing the developers of breaking its terms of service and violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
—Lauren Feiner, The Verge, 4 Apr. 2024
Trump faces 32 counts of violating the Espionage Act, each for a specific classified document that he is alleged to have illegally retained at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home and private club, after his presidency ended.
—Perry Stein, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Martinez’s lawsuit argued Market Basket violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and the New Hampshire Law Against Discrimination, the complaint shows.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
However, the man is accused of violating federal law, according to a Sept. 14 indictment charging him with unlawful possession of a firearm in a school zone in violation of the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990.
—Julia Marnin, Sacramento Bee, 26 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'violate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near violate
Cite this Entry
“Violate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/violate. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
violate
transitive verb
vi·o·late
ˈvī-ə-ˌlāt
violated; violating
: to go against (as a prohibition or principle) : fail to observe or respect
violate a law
civil rights were violated
violate due process
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share