sanction
Americannoun
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authoritative permission or approval, as for an action.
- Synonyms:
- authorization
- Antonyms:
- prohibition, interdiction
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something that serves to support an action, condition, etc.
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something that gives binding force, as to an oath, rule of conduct, etc.
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Law.
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a provision of a law enacting a penalty for disobedience or a reward for obedience.
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the penalty or reward.
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International Law. action by one or more states toward another state calculated to force it to comply with legal obligations.
verb (used with object)
noun
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final permission; authorization
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aid or encouragement
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something, such as an ethical principle, that imparts binding force to a rule, oath, etc
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the penalty laid down in a law for contravention of its provisions
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(often plural) a coercive measure, esp one taken by one or more states against another guilty of violating international law
verb
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to give authority to; permit
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to make authorized; confirm
Usage
What does sanction mean? Sanction has two main senses that are almost opposites: it can refer to authorizing or approving something, or to penalizing or disciplining someone or something. Sanction can be used as a verb (meaning to authorize or to penalize) or a noun (meaning approval or penalty). It is most commonly used in official contexts. As a noun referring to a penalty, it is especially applied to situations in which one country’s government imposes economic sanctions on another to try to force it to comply with laws or certain expectations. Example: Economic sanctions are intended to force regimes to play by the rules, but they often end up hurting the average citizen.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonsanctionnoun
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sanctionernoun
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resanctionverb (used with object)
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supersanctionverb (used with object)
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sanctionableadjective
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sanctionativeadjective
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sanctionlessadjective
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unsanctionableadjective
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unsanctioningadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sanctionsimple
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sanctionssimple
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have sanctionedperfect
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has sanctionedperfect
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am sanctioningprogressive
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are sanctioningprogressive
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is sanctioningprogressive
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have been sanctioningperfect progressive
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has been sanctioningperfect progressive
Past
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sanctionedsimple
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had sanctionedperfect
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was sanctioningprogressive
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were sanctioningprogressive
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had been sanctioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sanction
First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin sānctiōn- (stem of sānctiō ), equivalent to sānct(us) (past participle of sancīre “to prescribe by law”) + -iōn- noun suffix; see -ion
Explanation
Sanction has two nearly opposite meanings: to sanction can be to approve of something, but it can also mean to punish, or speak harshly to. Likewise, a sanction can be a punishment or approval. Very confusing — the person who invented this word should be publicly sanctioned! See if you can guess the meaning of sanction in the following contexts. Before invading Iraq, the U.S. and its allies first imposed sanctions on the country, refusing to supply the country with much-needed trade items. Did you guess that sanction = "punishment"? You were right! But by trading with China at the same time, the U.S. quietly sanctioned that nation's known instances of human rights abuses. Did you guess that sanction = "approval"? You're right again!
Vocabulary lists containing sanction
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Two-Faced Words: Contronyms
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The sanction was later transferred from the lawyer to the U.S. attorney’s office, though Nunley warned that he would issue more if he didn’t see proof immigrants had been set free as ordered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
As a club, Hearts have every right to remain livid at the crass goading of their players during the invasion that greeted Celtic's title win - and the tokenistic sanction that followed it.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
You cannot decapitate a movement with no head, and you cannot sanction an organization that does not exist.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
They were immediately excommunicated, but the sanction was lifted in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
“I swallow my own tears,” he said, “and give my sanction to the Allied proposal.”
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also warned that Chinese AI firms could face sanctions for such activity.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
State Department placed sanctions on MizarVision in May for allegedly “providing satellite imagery that enables Iran’s military strikes against U.S. forces in the Middle East.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Kyiv calls its strikes "long-range sanctions", saying the attacks are justified retribution for Russia's more than four-year offensive and nightly attacks on its cities.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Supporting small and medium-sized businesses has been among Vladimir Putin's declared priorities even in wartime, and framed as a backbone of resilience in the face of Western sanctions.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
One morning, soon after sanctions went into effect, we woke up to the sound of sirens on the road.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
As I approached the site on my tour bus—the only sanctioned way to visit—hundreds of locked red doors protecting the grottoes came into view, speckled across a sun-bleached cliff face more than a mile long.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Robinson’s courage—along with his hitting, fielding and baserunning—helped set the stage for the end of legally sanctioned segregation in American society and the beginning of integration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
The court heard how the Foxtrot Network had been sanctioned by both the UK and the US for its close links to the Iranian government.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
He alleged the centres were used "to supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment".
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
He raises the truck’s aerial, puts on the headset, and scans the spectra, trying to find anything that is not sanctioned.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
“In the end that sacred project actually tends to produce sectarian narrowness, exclusion, uniformity, silencing, self-censorship, lack of debate, the negative sanctioning of nonconformists, and the debilitation of rigorous thought.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
But he added that "there are still significant loopholes and areas that have been unaddressed by sanctioning countries", allowing volumes to remain high.
From Barron's ● Feb. 24, 2026
The law said the president in response to a national emergency may deal with an “unusual and extraordinary threat” by freezing assets or sanctioning a foreign country or otherwise regulating trade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
It said it will be sanctioning multiple entities, individuals and vessels to “stem the flow of revenue that the regime in Tehran uses to support terrorism abroad and repress its citizens.”
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 6, 2026
This prerogative of sanctioning the recourse of a Minister to the constituencies is one of which the Crown can never finally divest itself.
From Social Transformations of the Victorian Age A Survey of Court and Country by Escott, T. H. S. (Thomas Hay Sweet)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
