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

His previous employer, global chip-making leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, says the executive violated noncompete and confidentiality agreements when he jumped ship.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A federal judge last week ruled that the National Guard’s mobilization in Washington, D.C., which began in August, violated several laws.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Federal statutes govern how people can be appointed on a temporary basis, but Judge Currie found that Halligan's appointment had violated these laws.

Read more on BBC

The Inglewood Police Department “systematically” violated state public records laws by disregarding requests for documents related to police misconduct, including fatal shootings, and must now post the information on its website, a judge has ruled.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Over the past two years, the warring parties in Sudan have violated every ceasefire agreement, with negotiations to halt the war yet to make any breakthroughs.

Read more on Barron's