Showing results for "violated"

• past tense form of violate.
• past participle 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

See Examples For:

violated

It was alleged the company had violated numerous federal and state privacy laws for children.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Lawyers alleged this practice was not only unfair but violated state law and a tenant’s common law right to review bills they were expected to pay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

The states are claiming that Meta violated both state-level and federal laws, though the exact allegations vary by state.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

But in that case, the Justice Department alleged PayPal had violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Yet in spite of my sense of violated responsibility I was pleased by the developments and went ahead with my plan.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison