Violate

How to spell violate

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce violate

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does violate mean?

1. verbTo break or fail to comply with a rule, law, agreement, or right.

Violate in a sentence

• Parking here would violate the terms of the lease.

• The company was fined for choosing to violate environmental regulations.

Where does violate come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin verb violare, which meant to treat with violence, to outrage, or to dishonour. That verb grew from the noun vis, meaning force or strength, the same root that gives us violent and violence. English adopted violate in the late 1300s, at first carrying the strong sense of doing harm or breaking something sacred, and over time it broadened to the everyday idea of breaking a rule or an agreement. A useful spelling clue is that the first part is simply viol, exactly as in violent, so the i comes before the o, and the ending is the ordinary verb suffix -ate rather than anything fancier. Keeping the family in mind (violate, violent, violation) helps anchor every letter in place.

How the word is built

• viol- (from Latin violare: to treat with force)
• -ate (verb-forming suffix)