sanctioned

American  

[sangk-shuhnd] / ˈsæŋk ʃənd /

adjective

1. authorized, approved, or allowed.

   Locke's main argument was that unlimited accumulation of wealth was moral, religiously sanctioned, and logical.

2. officially or formally ratified or confirmed.

   The event is run exclusively in association with the National Franchise Association, so participating franchisees have all met the NFA-sanctioned code of ethics.

3. penalized, especially by way of discipline or to force compliance with legal obligations.

   The embargo had no real impact—but how often have we ever seen a sanctioned political leader say, “OK, I guess I’ll give in now”?

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of sanction.

Other Word Forms

• nonsanctioned
  adjective
• quasi-sanctioned
  adjective
• unsanctioned
  adjective
• well-sanctioned
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of sanctioned

sanction ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

If something’s sanctioned it’s officially approved. Now that your mom has finally come around, watching football with your friends on Sunday is a sanctioned ritual. When something’s sanctioned, it’s been approved by an authority, like your mom or your school, or it follows established rules or traditions. Eating ham on Easter might be a sanctioned tradition in your family. The word can also be used to say that something has been approved or authorized in a legal sense. You may read about a sanctioned treaty that has been signed by all members of the United Nations.

Example Sentences

Moscow is diplomatically isolated on the global stage and is heavily dependent economically on Beijing, with China now the main buyer of sanctioned Russian oil.

From Barron's • May 19, 2026

BBC Verify asked the MoD if the UK's armed forces had intercepted any sanctioned vessels since 25 March.

From BBC • May 12, 2026

Although quite a few movies have taken place against the whirl of the Cannes Film Festival, only a handful have been shot within sanctioned festival spaces — often because of artistic, logistical and financial constraints.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

Xiamen Limbach was also sanctioned by the European Union around the same time for sharing engine designs with entities involved in producing Shaheds.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

But in fact, the settlers’ demands and actions led to federally sanctioned warfare against Indigenous peoples much as they had before the revolution.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Related Words

• accepted
• allowed
• approved
• licensed
• permitted