contravention.

An act or condition that goes against a law, rule, or agreement.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• contravention of a rule
• direct contravention

On the page

The decision was in direct contravention of the published procedure.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Countable or uncountable by context; countable singular contravention; plural contraventions. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: analysis, explanation, qualification. Commonness: uncommon.