बलात्कार (balaatkaar)

noun A single-sense noun meaning 'rape' -- a serious legal and social term, not used loosely or figuratively in everyday speech.
Sense 1 : rape (sexual assault)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: दुष्कर्म (dushkarm, formal/legal), बलात्संग (balaatsang, literary/legal, rare)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This word appears constantly in Indian news media, court reporting, and activism around women's safety, especially since the widespread public reckoning after the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case. You will encounter it most often in headlines and formal/legal registers rather than casual conversation.
Common Mistakes: 1) This is a grave, specific legal/criminal term -- it is not used as slang or hyperbole the way English speakers sometimes misuse 'rape' casually (e.g. 'that exam raped me'). Such usage would be shocking and inappropriate in Hindi. 2) The common verb phrase is बलात्कार करना (balaatkaar karnaa) 'to commit rape' (transitive, with an agent doing the act) and बलात्कार होना (balaatkaar honaa) 'for a rape to occur/be committed' (used when describing the event happening to a victim, foregrounding the crime rather than the perpetrator).
Sample Sentences:
पुलिस ने बलात्कार के आरोपी को गिरफ्तार कर लिया। The police arrested the accused in the rape case.
(pulis ne balaatkaar ke aaropii ko giraphtaar kar liyaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
अदालत ने बलात्कार के दोषी को उम्रकैद की सजा सुनाई। The court sentenced the rape convict to life imprisonment.
(adaalat ne balaatkaar ke doshii ko umrkaid kii sajaa sunaaii।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
देश भर में बलात्कार के खिलाफ कड़े कानून बनाए जा रहे हैं। Strict laws are being made against rape across the country.
(desh bhar men balaatkaar ke khilaaph kade kaanoon banaae jaa rahe hain।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
2012 के दिल्ली गैंगरेप के बाद बलात्कार के मामलों पर देशव्यापी बहस छिड़ गई थी। After the 2012 Delhi gang-rape, a nationwide debate had erupted over rape cases.
(2012 ke dillii gaingrep ke baad balaatkaar ke maamlon par deshavyaapii bahas chhid gaii thii।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
अगर वह समय पर मदद माँगती तो शायद बलात्कार नहीं होता। If she had asked for help in time, perhaps the rape would not have happened.
(agar vah samay par madad maangtii to shaayad balaatkaar nahiin hotaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
सरकार चाहती है कि बलात्कार के मामलों की सुनवाई जल्द से जल्द पूरी हो। The government wants the hearings of rape cases to be completed as soon as possible.
(sarkaar chaahtii hai ki balaatkaar ke maamlon kii sunvaaii jald se jald poorii ho।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Passive
बलात्कार के खिलाफ हर शहर में विरोध प्रदर्शन हो रहे हैं। Protests against rape are happening in every city.
(balaatkaar ke khilaaph har shahar men virodh pradarshan ho rahe hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
इस राज्य में बलात्कार के मामले हर साल बढ़ते जा रहे हैं। Rape cases in this state keep increasing every year.
(is raajy men balaatkaar ke maamle har saal badhte jaa rahe hain।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
क्या सरकार बलात्कार रोकने के लिए कोई ठोस कदम उठाएगी? Will the government take any concrete steps to stop rape?
(kyaa sarkaar balaatkaar rokne ke lie koii thos kadam uthaaegii?)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
बलात्कार पीड़िता को न्याय दिलाना समाज की जिम्मेदारी है। Getting justice for a rape survivor is society's responsibility.
(balaatkaar piiditaa ko nyaay dilaanaa samaaj kii jimmedaarii hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct): बलात्कार (balaatkaar)
(sg.m.oblique): बलात्कार (balaatkaar)
(pl.m.direct): बलात्कार (balaatkaar)
(pl.m.oblique): बलात्कारों (balaatkaaron)