violation

[ vahy-uh-ley-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of violating.
2. the state of being violated.
3. a breach, infringement, or transgression, as of a law, rule, promise, etc.:

   He was fined for a traffic violation.

4. desecration; profanation:

   the violation of a cemetery.

5. sexual molestation, especially rape.
6. a distortion of meaning or fact.

Other Words From

• vio·lation·al adjective
• nonvi·o·lation noun
• previ·o·lation noun
• revi·o·lation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of violation¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin violātiōn- (stem of violātiō ), equivalent to violāt ( us ) ( violate ) + -iōn- -ion

Synonym Study

See breach.

Example Sentences

Violation of gravitas is being taken ‘extremely seriously’ by army top brass, source says.

From The Daily Beast

Also known as The Abstinence-Violation Effect, some individuals can feel an overall loss of control after going off the deep-end.

From The Daily Beast

Violation of the immunity due to those who come with this mission, duly accredited, in the form prescribed by international law.

From Project Gutenberg

Violation of the distance principle must properly always be determined by comparison between rates of the same kind.

From Project Gutenberg

Violation of the law, therefore, is not only a secular offense but a transgression of the principles of true religion.

From Project Gutenberg

Violation of the act by which it exists would be self-annihilation; and that which is itself nothing can create nothing.

From Project Gutenberg

Violation of God's laws on God's part would mean inconstancy.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• abuse
• contravention
• encroachment
• infraction
• infringement
• misdemeanor
• negligence
• offense
• transgression