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violence

UK/ˈvaɪ(ə)lən(t)s/US/ˈvaɪ(ə)lən(t)s/
nounB1Very common — you will meet it every day · #1,380 of 15,258neutral

Violence is behaviour meant to hurt or damage. Domestic violence, an act of violence, threaten violence.

Its legal definitions are narrower than its everyday use, which is why arguments about whether something counts as violence are usually arguments about which definition applies. Domestic violence is the commonest kind and the least reported. Note that the Latin means force, from vis — the same root as violate and vim.

Definitions of violence

  1. 1nounviolenceBehaviour meant to hurt or damage.B1

    “The peaceful protest turned to violence when some people began throwing stones.”

violence is harmful behaviour.

Where it comes from

Latin violentia comes from vis, force. Violate, violent and vim come from the same force.

  1. Middle English

    violence

  2. English, today

    violence

From Middle English violence. See violent. Displaced native stræc.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

violence in the wild

  • LGBTQ people experience violence directed toward their sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression.

    Violence against LGBTQ people

  • Gay men experience potentially fatal violence in several places in the world, for example by ISIS, stoning by Nigeria, and others.

    Violence against LGBTQ people

  • Murder occurring either during a sexual assault or as a result of an honor killing in response to a sexual assault is also a factor of sexual violence.

    Sexual violence

  • In addition, sexual violence is also a neglected area of research, thus deeper understanding of the issue is imperative in order to promote a coordinated movement against it.

    Sexual violence

  • Due to continued violence and murder of transgender people, communities have observed Transgender Day of Remembrance since 1999.

    Violence against transgender people

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.