VIOLATE

[verb] [T] - to break or act against (esp. a law, agreement, principle, etc., or something that should be treated with respect)They were charged with violating federal law. The construction of the building violated fire rules/regulations.The companies protest that the amendment violates the state constitution.It seems that the planes deliberately violated the cease-fire agreement. [T]All countries have agreed not to violate the UN sanctions/the international treaty.The doctor has been accused of violating professional ethics.To violate is also to go, esp. 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.It was said that the curse of Tutankhamen would fall on anyone who violated his tomb.Questions of this kind violate my privacy and I am not willing to answer them.(formal) Violate can also be used to avoid saying rape (= have sex with someone, esp. a woman by force).The little girl seems not to have been violated by her kidnappers.She said that she had been treated so roughly by the hospital staff that she felt violated. [T]