VEYE-uh-layts
/ˈvaɪəleɪts/
violates is pronounced VEYE-uh-layts (/ˈvaɪəleɪts/). Violates means to break or contravene a rule, law, or standard. In everyday use it denotes failure to comply with a requirement or ethical norm. The term can apply to laws, contracts, or moral codes, and implies wrongful or unlawful deviation from expected behavior.
Violates means to break or contravene a rule, law, or standard. In everyday use it denotes failure to comply with a requirement or ethical norm. The term can apply to laws, contracts, or moral codes, and implies wrongful or unlawful deviation from expected behavior.
"The company violates privacy regulations by sharing customer data without consent."
"If you violate the contract, you may face penalties or termination."
"She was accused of violating ethical guidelines during the study."
You pronounce it as /ˈvaɪ.ə.leɪts/ in US and UK dictionaries, with primary stress on the first syllable. Break it into VY-uh-layts. The middle syllable is schwa or a reduced /ə/, and the ending is /eɪts/. In careful speech you’ll hear three distinct beats: /ˈvaɪ/ + /ə/ + /leɪts/. Listen for the slight second syllable reduction and the clear /eɪ/ in the final syllable.
Common errors include misplacing stress (saying vi-O-lates), mispronouncing the middle syllable as a full vowel like /iː/ instead of a reduced /ə/, and slurring the final /ts/ into /s/ or /t/. To correct: keep primary stress on /ˈvaɪ/, render the middle as /ə/, and end with a crisp /eɪts/; practice with three-syllable pacing and a clear voiceless /t/ before /s/ to avoid blending.
In US/UK, the initial /vaɪ/ is consistent, but rhoticity affects the vowel /ɪər/— US tends to be rhotic; the final /leɪts/ can be slightly more clipped in faster UK speech. Australian speakers often reduce the middle vowel even more, sounding like /ˈvaɪ.ə.leɪts/ with a softer /ə/. Overall, the main differences lie in rhoticity and vowel length, with US often preserving a more overt /r/ like influence in connected speech, and UK/AU showing tighter, shorter final syllables.
The difficulty comes from the three-syllable pattern with a weak middle vowel and a final consonant cluster /ts/. The transition from a strong /vaɪ/ to a reduced /ə/ can be tricky, as native speakers often compress the middle and mishandle the /t/ + /s/ sequence. Mastery requires light, quick tongue adjustments and precise timing of the syllable boundaries, plus keeping stress on the first syllable to avoid accidental misplacement.
Stressing the first syllable prevents confusion with similar verbs. If you stress later syllables (vi-OL-ates), it can sound like a different word or an emphatic variant, and may disrupt the natural rhythm in sentences. The primary stress on /ˈvaɪ/ anchors the word in continuous speech, guiding listeners to hear it as a single action of breaking rules rather than a sequence of unrelated sounds.
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- US: rhoticity often keeps an /r/ after vowels in connected speech, which can slightly color the preceding vowels; focus on the /ɪ/ in the middle as a schwa and keep a strong /eɪts/ ending. - UK: less rhotic influence; final /ts/ can be crisper and the middle /ə/ may be even shorter. - AU: tends to be flatter, with slightly more centralized vowels; middle schwa may be reduced; maintain a tight final /eɪts/ and avoid over-articulation. IPA references: US /ˈvaɪ.ə.leɪts/; UK /ˈvaɪ.ə.leɪts/; AU /ˈvaɪ.ə.leɪts/.
Violates comes from the verb violate, which traces to Old French violer, from Latin violare, meaning to outrage or injure. The Latin root vile, meaning ‘crime, wrong, or injury,’ contributed to its sense of breaking a law or rule. The evolution progressed from jurisprudential usage in Medieval Latin texts to late Middle English, where it carried stronger moral and legal connotations of breaking sacred or formal obligations. Over centuries, the usage broadened to include broad violations of rules and norms beyond legal contexts. The prefix vi- is not a clear morpheme in this word; instead, the verb violare fused with the suffix -ate to form viol- + -ate, producing viol-ate with standard stress on the second syllable in modern pronunciation. First known uses appear in legal and ecclesiastical writings where sacred or societal codes were described as being violated, and by the 18th and 19th centuries it entered general usage to describe transgression of any codified rule or policy.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "violates" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "violates" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "violates"
-tes sounds
-hts sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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