infringed
Americanadjective
-
violated, transgressed, or encroached upon, as a regulation, restriction, or right.
The costs of enforcing an infringed patent can be exceedingly high.
He complained that CCTV was an ever more common security measure for which we all pay the price of infringed privacy.
-
illegally copied, distributed, or sold, as in contravention of a copyright or patent.
A judge dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the allegedly infringed material lacked the requisite originality.
-
relating to or being someone whose copyright, patent, etc., has been violated.
When awarding damages, it must be considered how wealthy the infringed company could have been without the infringement.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of infringed
First recorded in 1590–1600; 1955–60 infringed for def. 2; infringe + -ed 2 for the adjective senses; infringe + -ed 1 for the verb sense
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Caf added that "through the conduct of its team" Senegal infringed on Article 82 of regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations and as a result Article 84 became applicable.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
In the majority’s view, the Maryland school board hasn’t infringed anyone’s rights by setting a rule for staff conduct.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026
If it infringed free speech for the SEC rule to require potential corporate acquirers to disclose their 5% stake in a stock, then most financial disclosure requirements would fail muster, the judge said.
From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026
Disney and Universal Pictures have also sued AI company Midjourney alleging that its image generator infringed on its copyrighted characters from franchises such as “Star Wars” and “Despicable Me.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025
But each such error reflected negatively on his parents’ guidance and infringed on the community’s sense of order and success.
From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
