Infringe

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɪnˈfɹɪnd͡ʒ/

Definitions

1. To violate or trespass on rights or protections, intruding upon established legal boundaries or privileges while compromising individual freedoms or entitlements
2. To break or disregard a law, rule, or regulation ; to trespass upon someone’s rights or privileges unlawfully
3. To act against established legal or regulatory standards ; to unlawfully intrude on the entitlements or freedoms of others

Etymology: The verb "infringe" sounds like it should be a plain legal term, but its core image is physical breakage. It comes from Latin "infringere," built from "in-" and "frangere," "to break." The Latin sense ranged from breaking off a piece to bruising or weakening something, and that literal force is still visible in the word's shape. English took the verb from Latin, and its earliest meanings were close to the original: to break or violate something such as an agreement, a rule, or a right. The legal sense that dominates today grew out of that idea of breaking a binding obligation. A law or a right is treated as something that can be shattered by an action that goes against it, so to infringe a patent or a copyright is to break into the protected territory it defines. The shift from fracture to trespass is a small step in the Latin metaphor: something solid and binding is damaged by an outside force.

Synonyms: violate, breach, transgress

Antonyms: obey, comply