Definition of "contravene"
contravene
verb
third-person singular simple present contravenes, present participle contravening, simple past and past participle contravened
(transitive) To act contrary to an order; to fail to conform to a regulation or obligation.
Quotations
I have shown that slavery is wicked […] in that it contravenes the laws of eternal justice, and tramples in the dust all the humane and heavenly precepts of the New Testament.
1855, Frederick Douglass, “. Appendix.”, in My Bondage and My Freedom. […], New York, Auburn, N.Y.: Miller, Orton & Mulligan […], part II (Life as a Freeman), page 436
Some legal experts argue that the bill contravenes Canada’s charter of rights and freedoms. Montreal constitutional lawyer Julius Grey told the Vancouver Sun that Bill 78 was "flagrantly unconstitutional".
2012 May 24, Adam Gabbatt, “Canada student protests erupt into political crisis with mass arrests”, in the Guardian
(transitive, obsolete) To deny the truth of something.
Quotations
To contravene positions, that have been discussed again and again by writers of the first genius and erudition, and to disparage the genuineness of the bible histories wholly and indiscriminately, without some precision of investigation, some specific allegations, founded on the report of authentic documents, is intolerable arrogance […]
1794, Gilbert Wakefield, An Examination of The Age of Reason, London, page 38