Showing results for "violated"

• past tense form of violate.
• past participle of violate.

violated

American  

[vahy-uh-lay-tid] / ˈvaɪ əˌleɪ tɪd /

adjective

1. (of a law, principle, promise, agreement, instruction, etc.) acted against; not kept or honored; broken or transgressed.

   The often violated rule of thumb is that families should not spend more than 30 percent of their budget on housing.

   After this betrayal by local authorities, it will take some effort to restore the violated trust of the community.

2. (of something precious, sacred, beautiful, etc.) treated with disrespect or contempt; marred or desecrated.

   British art of the World War I era is full of images of a torn and violated landscape.

   The discovery of the violated tombs has caused pain and distress among the people of the area.

3. sexually molested, especially raped.

   History shows repeatedly the difficulty for a violated woman to be heard and believed.

4. rudely disturbed; thoughtlessly interfered with.

   They complain about their violated privacy, but then post way more online than anyone wants to know about them.

5. (of a border, home, property, restricted space, etc.) broken through or into by force or without right.

   Law enforcement was able to get to the violated border point before the smuggler escaped.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of violate.

Other Word Forms

• quasi-violated
  adjective
• unviolated
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of violated

First recorded in 1535–45; violate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; violate ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

violated

In September 2022, Salazar filed a class-action lawsuit, arguing that Paramount violated the VPPA.

From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026

The couple provided Finnish authorities with evidence, seen by the BBC, including a video of Russian police telling his mother that more than 300 posts had violated Russian law.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

The U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. has subpoenaed banks including Bank of America and JPMorgan and is assessing whether they violated a law passed after the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

"The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws."

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

His core argument was that the Sedition Act was unconstitutional because it violated the natural rights of the citizens of each state to control their own domestic affairs.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

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