violates

present tense third-person singular of violate
1
2
3
as in rapes
to engage in sexual activity and especially intercourse with a person unwilling or unable to give consent criminal statutes delineating acts that constitute violating another person

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 violates In groundbreaking litigation, Munkittrick is leading the charge for Warner Music Group in a first-of-its-kind case arguing that the major labels’ licensing of sound recordings for generative AI training violates the Sound Recording Labor Agreement. — Claudia Rosenbaum, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026 The filing argues that WIAA’s gender-identity rule violates Title IX and Brown’s parental rights. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026 The court recognized that an employer’s authority to terminate an at-will employee can be limited when a discharge violates fundamental public policy. — William Jones, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026 The groups argued that the agency’s move violates its obligations under the Clean Air Act. — Maydeen Merino, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026 Whether someone violates the law also depends on their actions and purpose. — Stefani Langehennig, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026 The numbers may be right while the decision violates a policy, bypasses a control or occurs at the wrong point in the process. — Sunil Padiyar, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026 The federal government is suing Minnesota and its two largest cities, claiming the state's statutory scheme for purchasing handguns and certain rifles violates the Second Amendment rights of Minnesotans who do not have a permit to carry. — Riley Moser, CBS News, 24 Sep. 2026 First off, that music often violates our strict rules about using original, non-copyrighted music. — Janet W. Lee, NPR, 20 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for violates
Verb
  • A lot of the time, Deadline first exclusively breaks news that disperses to other outlets and, eventually, social media.
    — The Deadline Team, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Tommy breaks them out by using Vision as a battering ram, but Paladin is waiting outside to blast Vision with a shotgun full of adamantium rounds.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Unlike a measurement that absorbs or destroys the photons, this method can extract information while preserving the photons themselves.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Raking or shredding those leaves destroys the next generation.
    — Manjot Kaur Sidhu, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • In that film’s story, Insiang (Hilda Koronel) metes out revenge against Dado (Ruel Vernal), her hateful mother’s lover, who rapes her after rejecting his advances.
    — Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 10 July 2026
  • Through these photos, Dominique Pelicot is not ‘just’ casting an incestuous gaze on me, as was said during the investigation and the Mazan rapes trial.
    — TIME, Time, 7 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • The ban contravenes advice from the World ​Health Organization, which advises against travel or trade restrictions with ​Congo, where officials are currently struggling to contain a large ⁠outbreak of Ebola.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 19 July 2026
  • His edict contravenes the language of the Constitution, the high court’s own rulings, legislation passed by Congress, and the consistent practice of previous Presidents.
    — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • His name no longer desecrates this sacred memorial, which belongs to the American people.
    — Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR, 8 July 2026
  • Nothing beats cuteness except watching violence be enacted upon the cuteness; like an aural Happy Tree Friends, Skulls tosses pom-poms of fuzz into the sky then desecrates them.
    — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 17 Dec. 2025
Verb
  • Anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
    — Christina Fan, CBS News, 7 June 2026
  • Any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates or interferes with airline crew members can lead to penalties of up to $43,658 per violation, according to the FAA.
    — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 3 May 2026
Verb
  • Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris returning from NFL training camps to college offends my sensibilities.
    — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 4 Sep. 2026
  • But something about this circus just offends me on a spiritual level.
    — Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026
Verb
  • Through the ball’s circular shape and its lack of color, the painting knowingly winks at Piet Mondrian’s Composition 10 in Black and White (1915), then defiles the Dutch modernist’s aesthetic purity.
    — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Moral and intellectual descent is inherent in a political project that sets out to undermine liberal democracy, reject the inclusive egalitarianism of modern America, find enemies to demonize, and heroize a leader who defiles common decency.
    — George Packer, The Atlantic, 24 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Violates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/violates. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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