contravene

[ kon-truh-veen ]
See synonyms for contravene on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),con·tra·vened, con·tra·ven·ing.
  1. to come or be in conflict with; go or act against; deny or oppose: to contravene a statement.

  2. to violate, infringe, or transgress: to contravene the law.

Origin of contravene

1
1560–70; <Late Latin contrāvenīre, equivalent to Latin contrā against + venīre to come

Other words from contravene

  • con·tra·ven·er, noun

Words that may be confused with contravene

Words Nearby contravene

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use contravene in a sentence

  • I saw it was useless to argue with him: his features were stamped with despair, and to contravene a man's fate is impossible.

    Confessions of a Thug | Philip Meadows Taylor
  • She wanted to defend her sister, but she had no arguments weighty enough to contravene those of her brother-in-law.

    The Fourth Estate, vol. 2 | Armando Palacio Valds
  • Maza's tyranny had so infuriated Don Rosendo's friends that they spared no means to contravene it.

    The Fourth Estate, vol. 2 | Armando Palacio Valds
  • He was far more anxious not to contravene the unwritten laws of the Undergraduate world.

    Rowlandson's Oxford | A. Hamilton Gibbs
  • I must grieve, I must weep: it seems the law of God, and the only one that men are not disposed to contravene.

    Imaginary Conversations and Poems | Walter Savage Landor

British Dictionary definitions for contravene

contravene

/ (ˌkɒntrəˈviːn) /


verb(tr)
  1. to come into conflict with or infringe (rules, laws, etc)

  2. to dispute or contradict (a statement, proposition, etc)

Origin of contravene

1
C16: from Late Latin contrāvenīre, from Latin contra- + venīre to come

Derived forms of contravene

  • contravener, noun
  • contravention (ˌkɒntrəˈvɛnʃən), noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012