injunction

American  

[in-juhngk-shuhn] / ɪnˈdʒʌŋk ʃən /

noun

• injunctions
  plural

1. Law. a judicial process or order requiring the person or persons to whom it is directed to do a particular act or to refrain from doing a particular act.

2. an act or instance of enjoining.

3. a command; order; admonition.

   the injunctions of the Lord.

---

injunction British  

/ ɪnˈdʒʌŋkʃən /

noun

1. law an instruction or order issued by a court to a party to an action, esp to refrain from some act, such as causing a nuisance

2. a command, admonition, etc

3. the act of enjoining

---

injunction Cultural  

1. A court order that either compels or restrains an act by an individual, organization, or government official. In labor – management relations, injunctions have been used to prevent workers from going on strike.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• injunctive
  adjective
• injunctively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• injunctions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of injunction

1520–30; < Late Latin injunctiōn- (stem of injunctiō ), equivalent to Latin injunct ( us ) (past participle of injungere to join to; see enjoin) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

If your school begins building a swimming pool on land that does not belong to it, the city might issue an injunction to stop it. An injunction is an official order issued by a judge. In general, injunctions are court ordered settlements or commands. In the United States, judges cannot create laws, but they can require someone to do something or to stop doing something. If you were wrongly fired from a job, a court may issue an injunction to your former employer, requiring him or her to hire you back or pay your back salary.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

injunction injunctions

Kingdom, the administration has asked the court, on the emergency docket, to lift an injunction currently preventing it from implementing policies that seek to deprive trans prisoners of much-needed healthcare and social accommodations.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

But a set of unheard Oasis recordings valued at between £1.2m and £1.6m were pulled from the auction last week, after the band filed an injunction.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Judge Russell’s preliminary injunction lets Ben Gamla move forward.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

But shortly before midnight, a three-judge Court of Appeal panel overturned the injunction, ruling that the judge had "erred in law".

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

A state court issued an injunction, and the mob eventually dissipated.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

The whistleblower also alleges that the administration moved forward with steps to create the new system during two initial injunctions from the court, which would have violated the court’s order.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026

After a group of 23 states sued, multiple federal courts issued injunctions blocking its implementation.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

Judge Rita F. Lin could order the federal funding to be reinstated, and indeed has already done so through some temporary preliminary injunctions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Last year, in an earlier iteration of the case, the court heard arguments on the power of district judges to issue broad injunctions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026

Poor child, she was bewildered by the many injunctions we laid upon her, and the curtailing of her freedom tried her sorely, though not a word of complaint came from her.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

Related Words

• admonition
• ban
• embargo
• instruction
• mandate
• prohibition
• ruling
• writ