violate
/ˈvaɪəˌleɪt/verb
violate is spelled V-I-O-L-A-T-E: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 5.6 times per million words in written English, the 10,358th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, violate means “To break or disregard (a rule or convention)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in violate?
| Letters | 7: V-I-O-L-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.6 times per million words; the 10,358th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is violate?
Violate appears 5.6 times per million words in written English, the 10,358th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce violate?
- /ˈvaɪəˌleɪt/
Violate has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-violate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of violate
- violates present, singular, he/she/it
- violating participle, present
- violated participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
- more violate comparative
- most violate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does violate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To break or disregard (a rule or convention).
Drinking-and-driving violates the law.
- 2
To rape.
- 3
slangTo cite (a person) for a parole violation.
adjective
- 1
archaicSubject to violation.
- 2
archaicSynonym of violated.
- 3
archaicobsoleteMorally impure.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Violate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | violer, transgresser |
| German | verletzen, brechen, überschreiten, missachten, übertreten , vergewaltigen |
| Portuguese | violar, transgredir |
| Spanish | violar, vulnerar, infringir, contravenir, conculcar, violentar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does violate come from?
From Middle English violaten (“to defile, render impure”), from violat(e) (“defiled, desecrated”, also used as the past participle of violaten) + -en, borrowed from Latin violātus, perfect passive participle of violō (“to treat with violence (whether bodily or mental)”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Ultimately from vīs (“strength, power, force, violence”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).