infringement

infringement — noun

1. a situation in which someone does something that a law, rule, or formal agreemen

1.nounC1
Definition

a situation in which someone does something that a law, rule, or formal agreement does not permit

Example

The company was fined for copyright infringement after using images without permission.

collocation: copyright infringement / patent infringement / trademark infringement

Any infringement of the school's dress code will lead to a warning from the principal.

infringement + of + rule / code / regulation

Common collocations
  • copyright infringement
  • patent infringement
  • trademark infringement
  • infringement of the rules
  • infringement of the agreement
  • infringement of the law
Synonyms
  • violation

    Broader and more common; covers everything from traffic laws to human rights

  • breach

    Strongly implies a broken agreement or relationship of trust, e.g. breach of contract

  • contravention

    More formal; typically appears in official legal documents and statutes

Grammar Patterns

infringement + of + noun phrase (the thing broken)

adjective + infringement

Usage Note

Most common in legal contexts involving intellectual property (copyright, patent, trademark). As an uncountable noun it refers to the general concept; as a countable noun it refers to a specific instance.

Common Mistakes

The company was accused of infringement the contract.
The company was accused of infringement of the contract.
Infringement is a noun and requires of before the thing that has been broken.
He committed an infringement to the safety rules.
He committed an infringement of the safety rules.
Use of, not to, after infringement.

2. an act of reducing or interfering with a person's or group's legal rights, freed

2.nounC1
Definition

an act of reducing or interfering with a person's or group's legal rights, freedoms, or privileges

Example

Many citizens view the new surveillance law as a serious infringement of their privacy.

infringement + of + right / privacy / freedom

The judge ruled that the ban was an infringement on the right to peaceful protest.

infringement + on + right to [activity]

Common collocations
  • infringement of privacy
  • infringement of rights
  • infringement of freedom
  • infringement of civil liberties
  • infringement on the right to
  • infringement upon personal freedom
Synonyms
  • encroachment

    Suggests gradual or subtle intrusion into someone's rights or territory

  • trespass

    Stronger, implying an unlawful intrusion; also used for physical property

  • intrusion

    Focuses on the unwanted entering of a private space or situation

Antonyms
  • protection

    The safeguarding of rights, the opposite of limiting or interfering with them

  • respect

    Showing proper regard for someone's rights, rather than limiting them

Grammar Patterns

infringement + of/on + noun phrase (the right or freedom)

(an) infringement + on/upon + right

Usage Note

Frequently appears in discussions about privacy, civil liberties, and the limits of government authority. When followed by on (rather than of), the focus is slightly more on the act of encroachment than on the right itself.

Common Mistakes

The new rule is an infringement to our freedom.
The new rule is an infringement of our freedom.
Use of or on, never to.
This law infringes the rights of citizens' (when you mean infringement as a noun).
This law is an infringement of the rights of citizens.
As a noun, infringement needs a determiner and a preposition.

Word family

  • infringe
    verbC1
  • infringing
    adjectiveC1
  • infringed
    adjectiveC1
  • infringer
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe breaking a rule or law, but each has a different flavour. Violation is the broadest and most frequent — it covers everything from parking tickets to human rights abuses. Breach strongly implies a broken agreement or relationship of trust (breach of contract, breach of confidence), so it works best where a promise or duty existed between two parties. Contravention is very formal and is mostly found in official legal texts; a native speaker would rarely use it in conversation. Transgression carries moral or religious overtones — it suggests a sin or ethical wrongdoing rather than a purely legal problem. Infringement, by contrast, is most at home in intellectual-property and rights contexts (copyright infringement, infringement of privacy). If you are writing about patents or privacy, use infringement. If you are writing about a broken promise or contract, use breach. For general rule-breaking, violation is the safest choice.

violation ↗breach ↗contraventiontransgression

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • act of infringement
  • infringement claim
  • infringement case
  • infringement lawsuit
  • infringement notice

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchAnglo-NormanEnglish

Infringement comes from the Latin verb infringere, meaning 'to break' or 'to break off' — formed from in- ('into') and frangere ('to break'). It passed into Old French as enfreindre, then into Anglo-Norman legal English, where it took on the specific meaning of breaking a law or violating someone's legal rights. The word's modern use is heavily shaped by intellectual property law, but its root idea of 'breaking into' something still runs through both senses.