Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To transgress or exceed the limits of; violate.
  • intransitive verb Obsolete To defeat; invalidate.
  • intransitive verb To encroach on someone or something; engage in trespassing.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To commit a breach or infraction of; act contrary to, as a law, right, or obligation; transgress, either by action or by negligence; violate; break.
  • To annul or hinder.
  • To encroach; trespass; intrude: followed by on or upon: as, to infringe upon one's rights.
  • Synonyms Encroach upon, Trench upon, etc. See trespass, v. i.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To break, violate, or transgress some contract, rule, or law; to injure; to offend.
  • intransitive verb To encroach; to trespass; -- followed by on or upon.
  • transitive verb To break; to violate; to transgress; to neglect to fulfill or obey.
  • transitive verb obsolete To hinder; to destroy

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive Break or violate a treaty, a law, a right etc.
  • verb intransitive Break in or encroach on something.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb go against, as of rules and laws
  • verb advance beyond the usual limit

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin īnfringere, to destroy : in-, intensive pref.; see in– + frangere, to break; see bhreg- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin infringere ("to break off, break, bruise, weaken, destroy"), from in ("in") + frangere ("to break").

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Examples

  • This is not to suggest that Thaler and Sunstein infringe — to the contrary.

    Archive 2009-04-01 Rebecca Tushnet 2009

  • With high court approval, the federal government has taken on broad powers, including some that states complain infringe on their authority.

    Buzz words for Sotomayor hearings 2009

  • However, car manufacturer Toyota has weighed in saying those other terms infringe on their right to use "Integrated Electric Drive" for their Prius hybrid electric car.

    Jim Lichtman: Liars, Cheats May Suffer 'Ethics Disorder' 2009

  • BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Hunting with dogs: Your views: I am disgusted at this decision by the government, to once again infringe on the rights of the people of the countryside!

    Hunting banned Jonathan 2004

  • BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Hunting with dogs: Your views: I am disgusted at this decision by the government, to once again infringe on the rights of the people of the countryside!

    Archive 2004-11-01 Jonathan 2004

  • June 8th, 2009 at 12: 34 am lets actually discuss this word infringe a bit here. it skinda like INVADE, the fact is that once again we are left with the fact we are NOT invading your rights.

    ‘Let your customers infringe trolls’ patents’ 2009

  • June 8th, 2009 at 12:34 am lets actually discuss this word infringe a bit here.

    ‘Let your customers infringe trolls’ patents’ 2009

  • According to i4i, XML-editing features in Microsoft Word infringe on

    Ars Technica Timothy B. Lee 2011

  • According to i4i, XML-related features of Microsoft Word infringe one of its patents.

    Ars Technica Timothy B. Lee 2011

  • However, because the definition of "infringe" allows for regulation, the states could still pass regulations that do not "infringe" on the right to bear arms.

    Your Right Hand Thief 2008

Comments

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  • The Australian Border Force, the immigration blackshirts who need apparently need a pseudo-military name, have transitived this verb as meaning 'to impose a penalty'.

    I do not like it.

    "ABF Superintendent Vesna Gavranich said large amounts of currency crossing the border both inbound and outbound can be a sign of criminal activity.

    “We are aware of organised crime groups attempting to depart Australia with undeclared excess cash in support of well-established money laundering networks," said Superintendent Gavranich.  

    “The ABF is committed to removing funds from the pockets of organised crime groups, and restricting their ability to cause harm to our communities."

    “If you need to move significant amounts of cash across our border, to avoid heavy penalties you must simply declare it."

    ABF infringed the man $3,756, which he paid before boarding his flight."

    https://www.abf.gov.au/newsroom-subsite/Pages/Passenger-fined-over-undeclared-currency.aspx

    April 17, 2024