drop the ball vs violate

drop the ball and violate both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
drop the ball	No	No	Yes	No
violate	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, violate is a hypernym of drop the ball; that is, violate is a word with a broader meaning than drop the ball:

Other hypernyms of drop the ball include breach, break, go against, infract, offend, transgress.

drop the ball (verb)	violate (verb)
commit a faux pas or a fault or make a serious mistake	destroy
	destroy and strip of its possession
	act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
	force (someone) to have sex against their will
	violate the sacred character of a place or language
	fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns