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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• observance
• respecting
• noninfringement
• upholding

2

as in offence

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
• offence
• 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
• illegality
• criminality
• bias crime
• unlawfulness
• immorality
• vice
• wickedness
• 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)
• pooh
• 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

If Harbaugh is such a man of integrity, then why was he suspended for half of the regular season (six games) during the 2023 championship run for two different breaches of NCAA rules? —Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 May 2025

Are you owed part of $4.5M settlement? April 15, 2025 3:03 PM Read Next National ParkMobile data breach leads to $32 million settlement. —Tanasia Kenney, Miami Herald, 8 May 2025

Verb

By compelling clergy to breach the confessional seal, Washington joins a small group of states stripping traditional confidentiality protections. —James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025

In some cases, the images in the scammers’ possession are real and were obtained from someone the victim knows or an account that was breached. —Ashley Belanger – May 5, ArsTechnica, 5 May 2025