Synonyms of breach

breach 1 of 2

noun

ˈbrēch 

1

as in violation

a failure to uphold the requirements of law, duty, or obligation

the president's deliberate misstatements were widely seen as a breach of the public trust

Synonyms & Similar Words

• violation
• infringement
• contravention
• trespass
• infraction
• transgression
• offense
• misconduct
• misdemeanor
• disregard
• ignoring
• sin
• invasion
• misfeasance
• intrusion
• forgetting
• neglect
• wrong
• encroachment
• delinquency
• nonobservance
• overlooking
• misprision
• dereliction

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• observance
• respecting
• noninfringement
• upholding

2

as in crime

a breaking of a moral or legal code

cheating on the exam was a serious breach of the military academy's honor code

Synonyms & Similar Words

• violation
• crime
• sin
• trespass
• felony
• wrongdoing
• debt
• transgression
• error
• misdeed
• sinfulness
• offense
• lawbreaking
• misdoing
• infringement
• misconduct
• malefaction
• misfeasance
• misdemeanor
• hate crime
• abuse
• fault
• corruption
• foible
• break
• criminality
• illegality
• bias crime
• unlawfulness
• immorality
• wickedness
• vice
• iniquity
• peccadillo
• licentiousness
• depravity
• lawlessness
• debauchery
• downfall
• fall
• iniquitousness
• descent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• innocence
• virtue
• morality
• blamelessness
• righteousness
• impeccability
• goodness
• noncrime
• guiltlessness
• faultlessness
• virtuousness
• irreproachability

3

as in gap

an open space in a barrier (as a wall or hedge)

the cat got out of the yard through a breach in the hedge

Synonyms & Similar Words

• gap
• hole
• crevice
• rift
• opening
• void
• crack
• interval
• break
• discontinuity
• fissure
• rent
• separation
• gulf
• hiatus
• interstice
• cleft
• slit
• split
• cavity
• fracture
• rupture
• chasm
• slot
• pore
• aperture
• orifice
• cranny
• abyss
• notch
• chink
• severance
• interspace
• sundering
• gape

breach

2 of 2

verb

as in to violate

to fail to keep

a builder being sued by a homeowner for breaching a contract

Synonyms & Similar Words

• violate
• break
• contravene
• transgress
• fracture
• infringe (on or upon)
• offend
• disobey
• ignore
• disregard
• traduce
• neglect
• blow off
• pass over
• rebel
• flout
• slight
• tune out
• brush (off)
• overlook
• resist
• dismiss
• withstand
• scorn
• defy
• shrug off
• wink (at)
• overpass
• pooh-pooh

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• follow
• conform (to)
• comply (with)
• obey
• observe
• serve
• mind
• submit (to)
• yield (to)
• notice
• hear
• listen (to)
• regard
• mark
• surrender (to)
• attend
• defer (to)
• note
• watch
• heed

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of breach

Noun

Asked how the breach could have happened given the heavy security on both sides of the border and whether Morocco posed a threat to Ceuta, Marlaska defended the government in Rabat. — Arkansas Online, 2 Aug. 2026

CyberGuy previously explained how the Carnival breach may put your travel data at risk. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 2 Aug. 2026

Verb

Zwijnenburg estimated the tanker is carrying more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil and said recent imagery suggests at least one section of the hull has been breached. — Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 2 Aug. 2026

By Sunday afternoon, Dikra was among the last remaining migrants in the city after tens of thousands of the 60,000 migrants that had breached the border with Morocco on Thursday and Friday walked back to that country. — ABC News, 2 Aug. 2026