violated

[vahy-uh-ley-tid]

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.

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• quasi-violated adjective
• unviolated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of violated¹

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

Example Sentences

Both men, through their lawyers, denied they violated the U.K.’s Official Secrets Act.

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The court order ruled that the church violated the deed.

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Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw was ousted last year after a board probe found a romantic relationship violated company policy.

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Both the location in Uganda and the type of business violated bank policies, the spokesman said.

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A spokeswoman for Schwarzman said the estate hasn’t violated any water regulations.

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