violence

American  

[vahy-uh-luhns] / ˈvaɪ ə ləns /

noun

violence plural

1. swift and intense force.

   the violence of a storm.

   Synonyms:

   fury, impact, power, might

2. rough or injurious physical force, action, or treatment.

   to die by violence.

3. an unjust or unwarranted exertion of force or power, as against rights or laws.

   to take over a government by violence.

4. a violent act or proceeding.

5. rough or immoderate vehemence, as of feeling or language.

   the violence of his hatred.

6. damage through distortion or unwarranted alteration.

   to do editorial violence to a text.

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violence British  

/ ˈvaɪələns /

noun

1. the exercise or an instance of physical force, usually effecting or intended to effect injuries, destruction, etc

2. powerful, untamed, or devastating force

   the violence of the sea

3. great strength of feeling, as in language, etc; fervour

4. an unjust, unwarranted, or unlawful display of force, esp such as tends to overawe or intimidate

5. 1. to inflict harm upon; damage or violate

      they did violence to the prisoners

   2. to distort or twist the sense or intention of

      the reporters did violence to my speech

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterviolence
  noun
• self-violence
  noun
• antiviolence
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• violence
  plural

Etymology

Origin of violence

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin violentia; see violent, -ence

Explanation

Violence is aggression, usually physical aggression that causes harm. Beating someone up and attacking a defenseless village are both forms of violence. From wars and acts of terrorism to bar brawls, violence is unfortunately very common in the world — and when there's violence, people get hurt. But you'll see a lot of organized violence and acts of aggression in sports: boxing and football are extremely violent, which is why people who play those sports get so many injuries. We can also say that something powerful or wild happens with violence, like a destructive tornado.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

violence

Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents Association which organizes the dinner, said in June as she announced the re-do that "we will not allow an act of violence to have the last word."

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

His movies are moody and stylish, dashed with violence and a sense of spiritual grace that often wrongfoots audiences.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

I am an anthropologist studying indigeneity, postcolonialism and ethnic violence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Even so, “Princess Mononoke” doesn’t glorify violence or tilt the audience against people like Lady Eboshi, who is more like us than we’d probably admit.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

He didn’t believe in war, or that violence was the way to solve problems.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai

Related Words

• assault
• attack
• bloodshed
• brutality
• clash
• confusion
• cruelty
• disorder
• disturbance
• fighting
• rampage
• struggle
• terrorism