sanction

[sangk-shuhn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sanction ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

authoritative permission or approval, as for an action.

something that serves to support an action, condition, etc.

something that gives binding force, as to an oath, rule of conduct, etc.

Law.

a provision of a law enacting a penalty for disobedience or a reward for obedience.
the penalty or reward.

International Law. action by one or more states toward another state calculated to force it to comply with legal obligations.

verb (used with object)

to authorize, approve, or allow: an expression now sanctioned by educated usage.

to ratify or confirm: to sanction a law.

to impose a sanction on; penalize, especially by way of discipline.

Origin of sanction

1555–65; < Latin sānctiōn- (stem of sānctiō), equivalent to sānct(us) (past participle of sancīre to prescribe by law) + -iōn- -ion

Related formssanc·tion·a·ble, adjectivesanc·tion·a·tive, adjectivesanc·tion·er, nounsanc·tion·less, adjectivenon·sanc·tion, nounnon·sanc·tioned, adjectivequa·si-sanc·tioned, adjectivere·sanc·tion, verb (used with object)su·per·sanc·tion, verb (used with object), nounun·sanc·tion·a·ble, adjectiveun·sanc·tioned, adjectiveun·sanc·tion·ing, adjectivewell-sanc·tioned, adjective

Synonyms for sanction

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sanction ON THESAURUS.COM

6. permit.

Antonyms for sanction

1. disapproval. 6. disapprove.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sanctioned

permitted, accepted, approved, licensed, allowed, warranted, confirmed, accredited, empowered, okayed

Examples from the Web for sanctioned

Contemporary Examples of sanctioned

The Moscow protest was not sanctioned, which meant every participant risked arrest.
Russia’s Rebel In Chief Escapes House Arrest
Anna Nemtsova
December 30, 2014
Before Cuba was shunned and sanctioned, it was a handy place for the randy.
Will Hyman Roth Return to Havana With Normalized Relations?
John L. Smith
December 18, 2014
In FDA sanctioned studies using MDMA-assisted therapy to treat veterans with PTSD, the success rate has been astounding.
Psychedelics Are Ready for a Comeback
Abby Haglage
September 8, 2014
But in federal court, if you pursue an “objectively baseless” claim, you can be sanctioned by the court (PDF) under Rule 11.
Obama Should Counter John Boehner’s Lawsuit—and Here’s How He Can Do It
Dean Obeidallah
July 9, 2014
Cardin said Tuesday he was not sure yet if Bastrykin was sanctioned secretly by the administration.
Obama Targets Russian Mob Boss
Josh Rogin
May 20, 2014

Historical Examples of sanctioned

If his accession had seemed even a likely thing at the time, it would not have been sanctioned.
The Avenger
E. Phillips Oppenheim
Some of the most flagrant of these, if not encouraged, have at least been sanctioned by the whites.
Chronicles of Border Warfare
Alexander Scott Withers
They were sanctioned by the authority of heaven, and it was deemed impiety to alter them.
The Republic
Plato
How could anything that was wrong be sanctioned by the gods?
Lotus Buds
Amy Carmichael
Its publication we may be sure would never have been sanctioned by Johnson.
James Boswell
William Keith Leask

British Dictionary definitions for sanctioned

sanction

noun

final permission; authorization

aid or encouragement

something, such as an ethical principle, that imparts binding force to a rule, oath, etc

the penalty laid down in a law for contravention of its provisions

(often plural) a coercive measure, esp one taken by one or more states against another guilty of violating international law

verb (tr)

to give authority to; permit

to make authorized; confirm

Derived Formssanctionable, adjectivesanctioner, nounsanctionless, adjective

Word Origin for sanction

C16: from Latin sanctiō the establishment of an inviolable decree, from sancīre to decree

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sanctioned

sanction

early 15c., "confirmation or enactment of a law," from Latin sanctionem (nominative sanctio) "act of decreeing or ordaining," also "decree, ordinance," noun of action from past participle stem of sancire "to decree, confirm, ratify, make sacred" (see saint (n.)). Originally especially of ecclesiastical decrees.

sanction

1778, "confirm by sanction, make valid or binding;" 1797 as "to permit authoritatively;" from sanction (n.). Seemingly contradictory meaning "impose a penalty on" is from 1956 but is rooted in an old legalistic sense of the noun. Related: Sanctioned; sanctioning.