LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
English → Latin

“violence” in Latin

The English word violence itself goes back to Latin violēns, through violentia.

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

violence
vis (intensive strength; for which Plin. is the first to use, also, vehementia): gravitas (great impression made by anything on the senses or feelings): incitatio: impetus (haste): violentia (force, vehemence): ardor: aestus (heat; especially of a fever, of passions): impotentia (want of self-government): iracundia (irritability, inclination to anger). Violence of a storm, vis tempestatis: with violence [Vid: VIOLENTLY]: to take with violence, vi capere (general term); vi eripere alicui aliquid (to snatch or tear away); vi or per vim expugnare (to take by storm): to apply or use violence, vi agere; with anything, per vim facere aliquid; in order to carry anything into execution, vi expugnare aliquid; extorquere aliquid: to do violence to, use or apply violence to anybody or anything, vim adhibere alicui or alicui rei (general term); vim afferre alicui; vim et manus inferre alicui (to lay violence hands on); violare aliquem or aliquid (to inflict an injury): to offer violence to a female, vim or stuprum afferre alicui; stuprum inferre alicui; per vim stuprare aliquam; decus muliebre expugnare: to do violence to one’s self, naturae suae repugnare (to act contrary to one’s nature and custom); in any matter, frango ipse me, cogoque (Orelli, cogo) aliquid ferre toleranter (to bear or endure anything with submission or patiently, Cic., ad Div., 4, 6, 2); tormentum sibi injungere, ne (Vid: Plin., Paneg. 86, in.).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for violence?
The usual Latin words for “violence” are volō, gravitās, incitātiō; also impetus, violentia, ārdor. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.