violate

Compared meaning: to break a rule, law, or agreement (verb).

比较义项：违反（规则、法律或协议）（动词）。

• break

  The most general and informal of the three; used for almost any rule, promise or law, often a single lapse; common in everyday speech, with no legal or official tone.

  这是三者中最通用、最口语化的词，几乎可用于任何规则、承诺或法律，通常指一次性的违反行为，常见于日常口语，不带法律或正式色彩。

  He broke his promise to call me back that evening.

  他违背了当晚给我回电话的承诺。

• violate 本词

  More formal than break; typically collocates with laws, rights, regulations or treaties; implies a clear, serious infringement, common in legal, official or journalistic writing.

  比 break 更正式，常与法律、权利、法规或条约搭配，暗示明确而严重的侵犯行为，多见于法律、官方或新闻语境。

  The factory has repeatedly violated environmental protection laws.

  这家工厂多次违反环境保护法。

• breach

  The most formal and legal of the three; used almost exclusively with agreements, contracts, duties or protocols; often used as a noun (a breach), implying a formal violation.

  三者中最正式、最具法律色彩的词，几乎只用于协议、合同、义务或规程，常作名词使用（a breach），暗示正式的违反行为。

  The bank breached its duty of confidentiality by leaking client data.

  这家银行泄露客户数据，违反了保密义务。

Break, violate, and breach all mean to fail to follow a rule, law, or agreement. Break is the most general and informal, used for almost any rule. Violate is more formal, often used with laws or rights. Breach is the most formal, used for agreements.

这三个词在“违反规则、法律或协议”这一意义上相近，但语体和搭配不同：break 最口语、最笼统，violate 更正式，常用于法律、权利或法规，breach 最正式，几近专用于“违反协议或合同”，且常作名词使用。这里不比较 break 的“打破、休息、故障”等其他意义，也不比较 breach 的“突破、缺口”等意义。

Compared meaning: treating something sacred with disrespect (verb).

比较义项：亵渎神圣的事物或场所（动词）。

• violate 本词

  Refers to breaching or intruding on something sacred, breaking its sanctity or integrity; more formal, and can describe entering or disturbing a holy place without necessarily damaging it.

  指侵犯或破坏神圣事物的神圣性、完整性；语气较正式，可以指进入或搅扰圣地，而不一定造成实际损坏。

  The soldiers violated the sacred temple grounds by marching through in their boots.

  士兵们穿着靴子穿过神庙，亵渎了这片圣地。

• desecrate

  Refers to treating a sacred place or object with disrespect, typically through physical damage, defacement, or contamination; a stronger word that stresses violence or destruction toward the sacred thing.

  指以极不尊重的方式对待神圣的场所或物品，通常表现为实际的破坏、涂污或玷污；语气更强烈，强调对神圣事物施加暴力或毁坏。

  Vandals desecrated the church by smashing statues and spraying graffiti on the walls.

  破坏者砸毁雕像、在墙上喷涂涂鸦，亵渎了这座教堂。

Violate and desecrate both mean disrespecting something sacred. Violate is more formal: intruding on or breaking the sanctity of something, not always by damage. Desecrate is stronger, meaning physical damage or defacement of a sacred place. Violate's sense of breaking a law is not compared.

这两个词都表示以极不尊重的方式对待神圣的事物或场所，但语气强弱和使用场合略有不同：violate 更正式，可指侵犯、破坏神圣性或私密性的行为；desecrate 语气更重，通常指实际的毁坏或玷污。这里不比较 violate 常见的“违反（法律、规定）”义项（如超速违反限速规定）。