# violate

Pronunciation: say "VY-uh-layt" /ˈvaɪəˌleɪt/

## Verb

1. To break or disregard a rule, law, or established convention.
   - Simple: To break a rule, law, or agreement, often on purpose.
   - _Protesters argued that the new law would violate their right to free speech._
   - _The factory repeatedly violated environmental regulations over several years._
2. To force another person into sexual intercourse without consent; to rape.
   - Simple: To force someone into sex against their will.
   - _The invading troops violated women in the captured city._
   - _Laws in many nations punish men who violate others by force._
3. To formally cite someone for breaking the terms of their parole. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To officially charge someone with breaking the rules of their parole.
   - _Miss one more check-in and your parole officer is going to violate you._
   - _They violated him after he was caught crossing state lines._

## Origin

Borrowed via Middle English violaten ("to defile, render impure") from Latin violātus, the past participle of violō ("to treat with violence, whether bodily or mental"), which ultimately comes from vīs ("strength, power, force, violence").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/violate (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).