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sanc·tion 
Audio Help [sangk-shuhn] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [sangk-shuhn] Pronunciation Key –noun
–verb (used with object)
| 1. | authoritative permission or approval, as for an action. |
| 2. | something that serves to support an action, condition, etc. |
| 3. | something that gives binding force, as to an oath, rule of conduct, etc. |
| 4. | Law.
|
| 5. | International Law. action by one or more states toward another state calculated to force it to comply with legal obligations. |
| 6. | to authorize, approve, or allow: an expression now sanctioned by educated usage. |
| 7. | to ratify or confirm: to sanction a law. |
| 8. | to impose a sanction on; penalize, esp. by way of discipline. |
[Origin: 1555–65; < L sānctiōn- (s. of sānctiō), equiv. to sānct(us) (ptp. of sancīre to prescribe by law) + -iōn- -ion]
] —Related forms
sanc·tion·a·ble, adjective
sanc·tion·a·tive, adjective
sanc·tion·er, noun
sanc·tion·less, adjective
—Synonyms 6. permit.
—Antonyms 1. disapproval. 6. disapprove.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
sanction
To learn more about sanction visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| sanc·tion
Audio Help (sāngk'shən) Pronunciation Key
n.
tr.v. sanc·tioned, sanc·tion·ing, sanc·tions
[Middle English, enactment of a law, from Old French, ecclesiastical decree, from Latin sānctiō, sānctiōn-, binding law, penal sanction, from sānctus, holy; see sanctify.] sanc'tion·a·ble adj. Word History: Occasionally, a word can have contradictory meanings. Such a case is represented by sanction, which can mean both "to allow, encourage" and "to punish so as to deter." It is a borrowing from the Latin word sānctiō, meaning "a law or decree that is sacred or inviolable." In English, the word is first recorded in the mid-1500s in the meaning "law, decree," but not long after, in about 1635, it refers to "the penalty enacted to cause one to obey a law or decree." Thus from the beginning two fundamental notions of law were wrapped up in it: law as something that permits or approves and law that forbids by punishing. From the noun, a verb sanction was created in the 18th century meaning "to allow by law," but it wasn't until the second half of the 20th century that it began to mean "to punish (for breaking a law)." English has a few other words that can refer to opposites, such as the verbs dust (meaning both "to remove dust from" and "to put dust on") and trim (meaning both "to cut something away" and "to add something as an ornament"). |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
sanction (n.)
1563, "confirmation or enactment of a law," from L. sanctionem (nom. sanctio) "act of decreeing or ordaining," also "decree, ordinance," from sanctus, pp. of sancire "to decree, confirm, ratify, make sacred" (see saint). Originally especially of ecclesiastical decrees. The verb sense of "to permit authoritatively" is from 1797. Sanctions, in international diplomacy, first recorded 1919, from sanction (n.) in the sense of "part or clause of a law which spells out the penalty for breaking it" (1651).
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| sanction | |
noun | |
| 1. | formal and explicit approval; "a Democrat usually gets the union's endorsement" |
| 2. | a mechanism of social control for enforcing a society's standards |
| 3. | official permission or approval; "authority for the program was renewed several times" [syn: authority] |
| 4. | the act of final authorization; "it had the sanction of the church" |
verb | |
| 1. | give sanction to; "I approve of his educational policies" [syn: approve] [ant: disapprove] |
| 2. | give authority or permission to |
| 3. | give religious sanction to, such as through on oath; "sanctify the marriage" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
sanction [ˈsӕŋkʃən] noun
permission or approval
Example: The soldier's action did not have the sanction of his commanding officer.
sanction [ˈsӕŋkʃən] verbExample: The soldier's action did not have the sanction of his commanding officer.
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to permit or agree to
Example: We cannot sanction the use of force.
Example: We cannot sanction the use of force.
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
Main Entry: sanc·tion
Pronunciation: 'sa[ng]k-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : a punitive or coercive measure or action that results from failure tocomply with a law, rule, or order <a sanction for contempt>
2 : explicit or official approval
3 : an economic or military coercive measure adoptedusually by several nations in concert for forcing a nation violating international law to desist or yield to adjudication
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
Main Entry: sanc·tion
Pronunciation: 'sa[ng]k-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : a punitive or coercive measure or action that results from failure tocomply with a law, rule, or order <a sanction for contempt>
2 : explicit or official approval
3 : an economic or military coercive measure adoptedusually by several nations in concert for forcing a nation violating international law to desist or yield to adjudication
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
Main Entry: sanction
Function: transitive verb
1 : to give official approval or consent to :
2 : to impose a sanction on <sanctioned the lawyer for professional misconduct>
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
Main Entry: sanction
Function: transitive verb
1 : to give official approval or consent to :
2 : to impose a sanction on <sanctioned the lawyer for professional misconduct>
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
Sanction
Sanc"tion\, n. [L. sanctio, from sancire, sanctum to render sacred or inviolable, to fix unalterably: cf. F. sanction. See Saint.]1. Solemn or ceremonious ratification; an official act of a superior by which he ratifies and gives validity to the act of some other person or body; establishment or furtherance of anything by giving authority to it; confirmation; approbation. The strictest professors of reason have added the sanction of their testimony. --I. Watts. 2. Anything done or said to enforce the will, law, or authority of another; as, legal sanctions. Syn: Ratification; authorization; authority; countenance; support.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Sanction
Sanc"tion\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sanctioned; p. pr. & vb. n. Sanctioning.] To give sanction to; to ratify; to confirm; to approve. Would have counseled, or even sanctioned, such perilous experiments. --De Quincey. Syn: To ratify; confirm; authorize; countenance.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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