contravened

verb

past tense of contravene
as in violated
to fail to keep the unauthorized reproduction of the image contravenes copyright laws

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of contravened The Kremlin denied Russia's tests of the Burevestnik missile at a nuclear facility contravened nuclear weapons testing regulations. — Barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025 Villa contravened these restrictions last season, time and time again. — Phil Hay, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contravened
  1. violated
  2. broke
Verb
  • In January, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights concluded that the school violated Title IX over athletic participation, facilities and its response to complaints.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Unless disclosed to and approved by the US government and reported on his tax returns, Kushner’s access to the Alpha account may have violated US law.
    — Matthew Cole, Vanity Fair, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of violated
Verb
  • His dedication to his craft is as impressive to Djokovic as the performance that broke his heart 11 years ago.
    — Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026
  • By leaving the state, Democrats broke quorum and delayed a vote.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of broke

Browse Nearby Words

contravene
contravened
contravenes
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Contravened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contravened. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shindig

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All