violence

English Online Dictionary. What means violence‎? What does violence mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English violence, from Old French violence, from Latin violentia, from adjective violentus, see violent. Displaced native Old English stræc.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvaɪ(ə)ləns/
• (obsolete or poetic) IPA^(key): /ˈvaɪ(ə)ˌlɛns/
• Rhymes: -aɪələns, -aɪləns

Noun

violence (countable and uncountable, plural violences)

1. Extreme force.
2. Physical action which causes destruction, harm, pain, or suffering.
3. Widespread fighting.

4. (figuratively) Injustice, wrong.

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “action intended to cause destruction, pain or suffering”): peace, nonviolence

Hypernyms

• (extreme force): force

Derived terms

Related terms

• violent
• violate
• violation

Translations

See also

• domestic violence
• reverse domestic violence

Verb

violence (third-person singular simple present violences, present participle violencing, simple past and past participle violenced)

1. (nonstandard) To subject to violence.

References

• “violence”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• violence in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• "violence" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 329.
• “violence”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French violence, from Latin violentia, from the adjective violentus, see violent.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vjɔ.lɑ̃s/
• Homophone: violences

Noun

violence f (plural violences)

1. (uncountable) violence
2. (countable) act of violence

Synonyms

• ardeur
• brutalité
• force
• fougue
• fureur
• sévices
• virulence

Antonyms

• douceur

Derived terms

• faire violence
• plus fait douceur que violence
• violence conjugale

Related terms

• violemment
• violent
• violenter

Further reading

• “violence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• violens, vyolence, vyolens, vyalens, wiolence, violense

Etymology

From Old French violence, from Latin violentia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌviːɔlˈɛns(ə)/, /ˌviːəlˈɛns(ə)/, /viəlˈɛns(ə)/, /ˈviːəlɛns(ə)/

Noun

violence (uncountable)

1. Violence (harmful manual force) or an example of it.
2. A harmful force of nature; great natural force.
3. Divine or religious force or strength.
4. The force or power of one's feelings or mental state.
5. Powerful or forceful movement or mobility.
6. Misrule or malgovernance; abuse of authority.
7. (rare) Beneficial manual force.
8. (rare) The strength of an ache.
9. (rare) The whims of chance.

Descendants

• English: violence

References

• “vī̆olence, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-05-30.

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin violentia.

Noun

violence oblique singular, f (oblique plural violences, nominative singular violence, nominative plural violences)

1. violence
2. act of violence

Descendants

• → Middle English: violence, violens, vyolence, vyolens, vyalens, wiolence, violense
  • English: violence
• French: violence