1
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
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
And in 2005, the Supreme Court held that such displays in a pair of Kentucky courthouses violated the Constitution.
—
Arkansas Online, 21 Feb. 2026
The Court has further recognized the states’ ability to establish sanctions for violating election laws as well as authority over recounts and primaries.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 21 Feb. 2026
Democratic lawmakers, though, counter that the audit violates the state constitution’s separation of powers.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 21 Feb. 2026
The cease fire continues to be violated by Israel, both in Gaza and Lebanon.
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for violate
Arkansas Online, 21 Feb. 2026
The Court has further recognized the states’ ability to establish sanctions for violating election laws as well as authority over recounts and primaries.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 21 Feb. 2026
Democratic lawmakers, though, counter that the audit violates the state constitution’s separation of powers.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 21 Feb. 2026
The cease fire continues to be violated by Israel, both in Gaza and Lebanon.
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for violate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for violate
Verb
-
An historic nor’easter pummeled the region on Monday — with one spot even breaking the snow record from the Blizzard of ’78 — as power crews work around the clock to try to restore electricity for hundreds of thousands.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
24 Feb. 2026
-
In some cases, such as Providence, Rhode Island and Islip, New York, the storm broke records for snowfall, according to records from the weather service and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Cops arrested a pair of teen vandals Thursday and charged them with desecrating a Brooklyn playground in a Jewish neighborhood with more than 50 swastikas during a two-day attack, police and city officials said.—
Julian Roberts-Grmela,
New York Daily News,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Officials determined that a total of 26 underground vaults and mausoleums were broken into or desecrated from November 2025 until the day Gerlach was caught.—
Alexandra Simon,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The North Highlands man, 34 at the time of his attacks, then raped and beat them in his vehicle and at a home before dumping them along capital region roadsides.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Investigators said she had been raped and murdered a few hours before and evidence showed that she had been killed somewhere else and her body was moved to the school.—
Chelsea Hylton,
CBS News,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
At issue is whether the Stars, as the Mavericks contend, breached their American Airlines Center lease by having their primary headquarters outside Dallas city limits during most of the past quarter-century.—
Brad Townsend,
Dallas Morning News,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Ultimately, in Europe, giving the green light will be up to the EU’s antitrust chief, Teresa Ribeira, who has been slapping hefty fines lately on Google and Elon Musk’s X for breaching European Union rules.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Gizmodo continues that the results of the CT scans astonished researchers because her right TMJ, near the ear, had been destroyed.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Half a million acres burned, destroying $300 million in timber and at least 150 homes and other structures.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In one incident in 1995, prosecutors said Funston used candy to lure a 5-year-old girl into his car in Highland Hills, took her up into the hills and assaulted her.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Police claim some of the students assaulted responding officers.—
Tom Dougherty,
CBS News,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Ukraine's skeleton racer and flag bearer Vladyslav Heraskevych was seen wearing his helmet honoring athletes from his country who were killed during the war with Russia in training this afternoon, despite the IOC saying earlier that the helmet contravenes the Olympic Charter guidelines.—
Sean Nevin,
NBC news,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Trump seems unconcerned that extorting his partners contravenes the principles of what was designed as a free-trade accord.—
Stephania Taladrid,
New Yorker,
11 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
As a state legislator, Lincoln stood against slave catchers backed by the federal government who defiled our state’s laws and terrorized our most vulnerable.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The work of love, and the question of what happens when love is absent or defiled, became a central preoccupation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Violate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/violate. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
