# violence

Pronunciation: US say "VY-uh-luhns" /ˈvaɪ.(ə.)ləns/; UK

## Noun

1. The use of physical force to hurt people or damage property, including fighting that spreads through an area or community.
   - Simple: Using force to hurt people or damage things, or fighting between groups of people.
   - _The crowd's anger erupted into violence within minutes._
   - _She fled a home marked by constant violence._
2. Extreme force or intensity.
   - Simple: Very great force or power.
   - _The violence of the eruption shattered windows miles away._
   - _He gripped the rope with such violence that his knuckles whitened._
3. An act of injustice or wrong done to someone or something.
   - Simple: A wrong or unfair act done to someone or something.
   - _The hasty edit did violence to the author's careful argument._
   - _Critics said the ruling did violence to the spirit of the constitution._

## Verb

4. To subject a person or place to violence. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: To use violence against a person or place.

## Origin

Latin "violentia," formed from the adjective "violentus" (violent), reached English by way of Old French and Middle English. It took the place of the native Old English word "stræc."

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