Showing results for "violated"

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

violated

American  

[vahy-uh-ley-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

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

Example Sentences

More recently, the state alleged that Bhakta violated state law by storing spirits on campus and renovated his house, which is on the state’s Register of Historic Places, without needed approvals.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 9, 2026

The Federal Trade Commission also has strict rules on debt collectors, and this caller may have violated them.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 9, 2026

Kavanaugh instead argued that it violated a separate federal statute.

From Salon • Jul. 9, 2026

The company said it had removed additional ads, disabled more accounts and blocked URLs for other content that violated its policies in response to the BBC's findings.

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026

Jefferson objected so strenuously to the debate over the Missouri question because it violated that legacy.

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