violating

present participle of violate
1
2
3
as in raping
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 violating Charlotte’s water utility has fielded about 18 complaints a day of people violating mandatory water restrictions in place since mid-May, when the region was facing an extreme drought crisis. — Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2026 Just before kickoff, the Tide confirmed that Kirkpatrick was suspended for violating team rules. — ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026 Most recently, the two have accused each other of violating ethics laws. — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026 In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission hit the company, then known as Facebook, with a record $5-billion fine for violating the terms of a 2011 FTC settlement over privacy practices. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026 Meta has long been criticized for its data privacy practices, and on Wednesday, a New Mexico judge ordered the company to pay $25 billion for violating the state’s consumer protection laws. — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 22 Oct. 2026 That's partly due to the team trading James Harden and Chris Paul last season and sending Leonard to the Toronto Raptors last month after the NBA found the Clippers guilty of violating salary cap-circumvention rules involving him. — CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 He was arrested again by Danbury police in March 2023 for violating a protective order and in May 2023 for threatening and for violating a protective order, according to federal officials. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 22 Oct. 2026 The October filing accuses officials of violating her rights to speak, practice her faith and hold political beliefs. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for violating
Verb
  • Zelensky accused Moscow of breaking the apparent agreement and, in turn, resumed strikes against Russian oil facilities, defying pressure from Washington.
    — Olivia-Anne Cleary, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Jurors began deliberating Wednesday afternoon and continued Thursday and Friday before breaking for the weekend.
    — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • One crab can eat more than 40 juvenile soft-shell clams in a day, while also destroying seagrass habitats.
    — Victoria Malloy, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • And then a seven-hour-long GRB came along—acting like a Death Star whose planet-destroying beam refused to switch off—that defied all explanation.
    — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Arthur lost custody of her children after their stepfather was indicted for raping Acton.
    — Julie Carr Smyth, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
  • In a statement released by Acton's campaign, her brother, Philip Stearns, said the two were removed from their mother Donna Arthur's custody as children after their stepfather, Arthur's husband, was indicted for raping Acton as a child.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • These giant humpbacks, a pod of them came up and around us and started breaching and started waving.
    — William Earl, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
  • On Monday, Zelenskyy accused the Russians of breaching the ceasefire.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • French's post led to a flurry of other posts on social media calling for violence against Indian communities, including desecrating Hindu temples and statues.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Without criminal consequences, operators who profit from desecrating the dead have nothing to fear.
    — Susana Mendoza, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Among those arrested were individuals accused of choking their partners and assaulting their children, the sheriff’s office said.
    — Tanya Babbar, Houston Chronicle, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Selma Blair pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer and nurse after a Delta Air Lines incident.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Two years ago he was suspended for three months by the Cricket Regulator for betting on cricket between 2017 and 2019, contravening the game’s rules.
    — Paul Newman, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • In the years intervening, the poem has remained a lodestar, a contravening presence when, in present day America’s vituperative political landscape, the humanities disciplines and higher education itself has been forced to invoke and defend its own authority.
    — Elaine L. Wang September 11, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • As wet electrodes get thicker, the liquid binder migrates unevenly during drying, ruining the battery‘s structure.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Seaver also allegedly threatened to start a podcast dedicated to ruining Parton’s image unless he was paid.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 28 Sep. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Violating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/violating. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster