What does contravene mean?
Contravene is a formal verb meaning to violate, go against, or conflict with a law, rule, agreement, or established principle. It is most at home in legal and regulatory writing: a company may be found to have contravened safety standards, or a local ordinance may contravene national legislation. The verb takes a norm or rule as its object — one contravenes regulations, not individuals. It can also describe abstract inconsistency, as when an action contravenes common sense or a claim contravenes accepted evidence. Derived forms include the noun contravention ('a breach or violation') and the rarer agent noun contravener. The word comes from the Latin contra ('against') combined with venire ('to come'), literally suggesting movement against something; this makes it a close relative of convene, intervene, and prevent. Because of its precise legal register, contravene signals seriousness and formality, which is why it appears so often in court rulings, compliance reports, and official statements about breaches of rules.
verbTo contravene a law, rule, or agreement is to act in violation of it or to conflict with it.
- To act contrary to or violate a law, rule, treaty, or established principle.
- To conflict with or be inconsistent with something (e.g., 'his statement contravenes common sense').
"The company was fined for actions that contravened environmental regulations."
"Publishing the leaked memo would contravene her confidentiality agreement."
"The judge ruled that the bylaw contravened national legislation and was therefore void."
Contravene and convene are near-twins that went opposite ways: one assembles people together, while its sibling breaks rules apart — both from the Latin venire, 'to come.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of contravene
Contravene entered English in the late sixteenth century from French 'contravenir', ultimately deriving from Latin 'contra' (against) plus 'venire' (to come), giving a literal sense of coming against something. Its Latin root venire also produced cognates such as convene (to come together), intervene (to come between), and prevent (to come before). In English it settled into formal usage, especially in legal contexts, where it denotes acting in violation of a rule or conflicting with a law.
Related word forms
How contravene is actually used
Contravene is a formal word used chiefly in legal, regulatory, and official contexts. It typically takes a rule, law, or principle as its object rather than a person. It is transitive and carries a neutral-to-negative connotation depending on whether it describes deliberate defiance or accidental conflict.
Easily confused with contravene
Convene means to come together or assemble for a meeting, whereas contravene means to violate or act against something.