violate

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns
  2. verb act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
  3. verb destroy

Etymology

From Middle English violaten (“to defile, render impure”), from violat(e) (“defiled, desecrated”, also used as the past participle of violaten) + -en, borrowed from Latin violātus, perfect passive participle of violō (“to treat with violence (whether bodily or mental)”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Ultimately from vīs (“strength, power, force, violence”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

go against, break

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading