Definition of violence in English:

noun

• 1Behaviour involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something.

  ‘violence erupted in protest marches’

  ‘domestic violence against women’

  ‘the fear of physical violence’

  ‘screen violence’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The most serious incidents include criminal damage and violence against people.’
  • ‘What I do not respect however is people who kill or otherwise use violence against people for any reason.’
  • ‘One act of violence against another is an act of violence against one's self.’
  • ‘New laws could be passed in a bid to tackle the increasing levels of violence against nurses and hospital staff.’
  • ‘The aims of the campaign are to highlight the prevalence of violence against women.’
  • ‘It is now being recognised that there is a problem of increased violence against staff.’
  • ‘The trouble then spreads to town centre takeaways with incidents of criminal damage and violence.’
  • ‘She is pushing for changes in the penal code for rape and violence against women.’
  • ‘His attitude showed how domestic violence can be as damaging mentally as it is physically.’
  • ‘The scheme comes about in response to increased levels of violence against health workers.’
  • ‘He began life in a violent way but has learnt to channel that physical violence into creative energy.’
  • ‘Poor behaviour and violence in class is said to be one of the most challenging aspects of teaching.’
  • ‘But the down side is the possibility of violence and bad behaviour on the streets.’
  • ‘More people were killed in political violence in those four years, than in the previous thirty.’
  • ‘Police have warned fans that that any violence or bad behaviour will not be tolerated.’
  • ‘There had been some physical violence, but a court safety order seemed to sort that.’
  • ‘Family violence is one of the most insidious forms of violence against women.’
  • ‘All four defendants deny they were responsible for any of the violence against him.’
  • ‘What hurts most about domestic violence is that the bruises on your body are created by somebody you love.’
  • ‘We found a clear relation between experiencing controlling behaviour and violence.’

  Synonyms

  brutality, brute force, roughness, ferocity, fierceness, savagery, cruelty, sadism, barbarity, barbarousness, brutishness, murderousness, bloodthirstiness, ruthlessness, inhumanity, heartlessness, pitilessness, mercilessness

  forcefulness, force, full force, power, powerfulness, strength, might, savagery, ferocity, brutality, destructiveness

  View synonyms

  1. 1.1Law The unlawful exercise of physical force or intimidation by the exhibition of such force.
     More example sentences

     • ‘Each of the people who uses or threatens unlawful violence will be guilty of the offence.’
     • ‘In other words the receipt of the letter led him to believe that immediate unlawful violence would be used.’
     • ‘He was alleged to have forced the complainant by violence or threats to engage in sexual activity with him.’
     • ‘The deceased's use of violence was not premeditated and he had no intention to kill.’
     • ‘The appellant had no record for offences of violence or of a sexual nature.’
     • ‘Implicit in that was a threat to use violence if the bailiff went ahead.’
     • ‘It is not suggested by the appellant that he was threatened with violence in 1985.’
     • ‘With two exceptions, actual violence by the deceased upon the accused was required.’
     • ‘She claims that she acted in self defence following domestic violence when he threatened her with the gun.’
     • ‘They are subject to family violence at home and sexual harassment in the work place.’
     • ‘That leaves the question of how immediate or imminent the threatened violence needs to be.’
     • ‘So that it was not as if she was trying to escape from an immediate threat of violence to her.’
     • ‘The fact on which he now relies is that though he stole, he did not in fact threaten violence.’
     • ‘I would like to say a word or two about those who use violence and intimidation to try and stop testing.’
     • ‘Well the whole history of the relevance of violence in Family Law is an interesting one.’
     • ‘The claimant and his family have been the victims of violence and discrimination in one town.’
     • ‘That is the level of violence that deserves the sentence that was imposed in this case.’
     • ‘Another tenant in the property was also causing a large amount of problems including acts of violence.’
     • ‘If they enforced contracts by violence they were supplying a deficiency of commercial law.’

• 2Strength of emotion or of a destructive natural force.

  ‘the violence of her own feelings’

  More example sentences

  • ‘No blood is spilled in the book - but its emotional violence is devastating.’
  • ‘Alarmed by the violence of her sorrow and by being a witness to it, but impatient with the sorrow itself, Ray was a poor pacifier.’
  • ‘The violence of the wind had lessened - though the air remained redolent with the smell of dust.’

  Synonyms

  intensity, severity, strength, force, great force, vehemence, powerfulness, power, potency, ferocity, forcefulness, wildness, frenziedness, fury, storminess, tempestuousness, turbulence

  View synonyms