How to Use contravene in a Sentence

contravene

verb
  • The overcrowded dance club contravened safety regulations.
  • Those contravening the law could face up to a year and a half in prison.
    — Elias Meseret, Fox News, 5 Apr. 2018
  • His failure to do so contravened the board’s code of practice.
    — K.j. Yossman, Variety, 11 May 2023
  • In an increasing number of states, that choice could contravene the law.
    — Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 11 July 2022
  • Will the new code of conduct also include sanctions for those who contravene it?
    — K.j. Yossman, Variety, 10 Dec. 2024
  • His latest volley of tariffs would contravene that very deal, which is up for review in the middle of next year.
    — Rob Wile, NBC News, 6 Feb. 2025
  • But LePage doesn’t seem to mind contravening the will of the people.
    — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 24 Apr. 2018
  • Villa contravened these restrictions last season, time and time again.
    — Phil Hay, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
  • The first phase was not smooth, with accusations by each side that the other was contravening the agreement.
    — Ibrahim Dahman, CNN, 1 Mar. 2025
  • The problem was that the league had forbidden that practice and threatened to fine any player who contravened the order.
    — Bruce Weber, New York Times, 15 June 2023
  • As in Akron, all of these restrictions appeared to contravene the trimester framework of Roe.
    — Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 25 June 2022
  • Moscow says the system is in full compliance with the agreement and has denied contravening the treaty.
    — Anatoly Kurmanaev, WSJ, 23 Oct. 2018
  • Lawsuits and claims for damages could follow if international treaties were deemed to have been contravened.
    — Zainab Fattah, Bloomberg.com, 3 July 2017
  • Such a move would contravene sanctions, triggering the yacht’s impoundment.
    — Nick Kostov and Giovanni Legorano, WSJ, 5 Mar. 2022
  • Five months after the game's release, some have spotted a design on the shirt sleeves which appears to contravene the game's child-friendly rating.
    — SI.com, 17 Feb. 2018
  • Given that the new rules directly contravene existing law, those challenges may have a decent chance of success.
    — Benjamin Hart, Daily Intelligencer, 20 Feb. 2018
  • Cannon has made a series of rulings that some outside observers have said contravened the law in Trump-favorable ways.
    — Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY, 15 July 2024
  • The ministry said the government will step up enforcement measures against people who contravene their stay-at-home notices.
    — Faris Mokhtar, Bloomberg.com, 7 May 2020
  • The presence of Pooh’s likeness would contravene Olympic rules of sponsorship and branding.
    — JerÉ Longman, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2018
  • Chinese tech companies such as Baidu have become adept at filtering content that contravenes these rules.
    — Meaghan Tobin, Washington Post, 6 July 2023
  • This argument does not only contravene Supreme Court precedent.
    — Mark Joseph Stern, Slate Magazine, 19 Oct. 2017
  • Trump seems unconcerned that extorting his partners contravenes the principles of what was designed as a free-trade accord.
    — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2025
  • Without the end run, a bid to be elected to a third term would directly contravene the Twenty-second Amendment.
    — Michael Luo, New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2025
  • And by some estimates, as many as two-thirds of those boats engage in fishing that contravenes international or national laws.
    — Andrew Jacobs, The Seattle Times, 29 Apr. 2017
  • Burning Man officials say the growing fame of artists at the event doesn’t contravene the community’s principles.
    — Brenda Cronin, WSJ, 24 Mar. 2018
  • Guardian Facebook ban Facebook has banned events that contravene social distancing orders put in place by state governments.
    — David Meyer, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2020
  • There was no ground survey report, and the building contravened the permissions in its original permit when it was built in 1993.
    — Emily Wither, The Dial, 13 Feb. 2025
  • The Apple statement also doesn't contravene the central significance of the attacks.
    — Wired, 6 Sep. 2019
  • The unfounded allegations against my client contravene both the facts of this case and his long-standing, irrefutable commitment to character and integrity.
    — Robert A. Cronkleton and Ian Cummings, kansascity, 3 Sep. 2017
  • Turkey sees it as contravening the Montreux Convention and its own strategic interests.
    — Galip Dalay, Time, 19 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contravene.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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