violate

verb [T]

/ˈvaɪə.leɪt/

Definition

› to break or act against something, especially a law, agreement, principle, or something that should be treated with respect: They were charged with violating federal law. It seems that the planes deliberately violated the ceasefire agreement. The doctor has been accused of violating professional ethics.Obeying and breaking the lawObedient and compliantDisobedientBad and wrong behaviour › to go, especially forcefully, into a place or situation which should be treated with respect and in which you are not wanted or not expected to be: The fishermen claimed that ships from another country had violated their territorial waters. Questions of this kind violate my privacy and I am not willing to answer them.Obeying and breaking the lawObedient and compliantDisobedientBad and wrong behaviour › formal to rape someone: She said that she had been treated so roughly by the hospital staff that she felt violated.Physical and sexual assault and abductionSexual activity in general violator

/-leɪ.tər/

/-leɪ.t̬ɚ/ noun [C] Criminals - general words

(Definition of violate verb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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