I. ˈsaŋ(k)shən, ˈsaiŋ- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French sanction, from Latin sanction-, sanctio, from sanctus (past participle of sancire to decree, make sacred) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at sacred
1. : a formal decree ; especially : an ecclesiastical decree
2.
a. obsolete : a solemn agreement : oath
b. : something that makes an oath binding
the solemnity of the administration of the oath with its august sanctions — L.P.Stryker
3. : the detriment, loss of reward, or other coercive intervention that is annexed to a violation of a law as a means of enforcing the law and may consist in the direct infliction of injury or inconvenience (as in the punishments of crime) or in mere coercion, restitution, or undoing of what was wrongly accomplished (as in the judgments of civil actions) or may take the form of a reward which is withheld for failure to comply with the law
4. : solemn or ceremonious ratification or acceptance
must be divine sanction for all human laws — V.L.Parrington
5. : a consideration, principle, or influence (as the findings of conscience or the principle of the golden rule or the goal of perfection) that impels to moral action or determines the moral judgment as valid
the sanction that a religion can add to social ethics — Alfred Cobban
poetry is one of the sanctions of life — S.F.Morse
6.
a. : explicit permission or recognition by one in authority that gives validity to the act of another person or body
functioning under the sanction of the state — W.A.Robinson
so firmly established as not to need the sanction of formal statute — F.B.Simkins
received his father's sanction and authority — George Meredith
b. : encouragement or approbation given usually by an authoritative person, by custom, or by tradition
not as yet received the sanction of tradition — J.L.Lowes
allows them to become accessories to any crime that has social sanction — Anthony West
7. : something that authorizes, confirms, or countenances
their chief sanction was his personal prestige — John Buchan
8. : a coercive measure adopted usually by several nations in concert for forcing a nation violating international law to desist or yield to adjudication especially by withholding loans or limiting trade relations or by military force or blockade
9. : a mechanism of social control that punishes deviancy from or rewards conformance to the normative standards of behavior existing in a society
in some societies shame and ridicule may operate as the principal sanction
lives in a world … with inescapable pressures in the form of sanctions — T.D.McCown
10. : a restrictive measure used to punish a specific action or to prevent some future activity
establishing sanctions against the violators of labor legislation — Current Biography
II. verb
( sanctioned ; sanctioned ; sanctioning -sh(ə)niŋ ; sanctions )
transitive verb
1. : to make valid or binding : ratify, confirm, or put into effect typically by decree, fiat, or other formal procedure
the fact … would not justify this court in sanctioning an error — R.B.Taney
the vicar became reasonable and sanctioned the marriages — American Guide Series: Arizona
2. : to establish, maintain, encourage, or permit usually by some authoritative approval or consent
sanctioned by his job to drive … constantly in an automobile — Bernard De Voto
use words sanctioned by long tradition — John Dewey
3. : to annex a sanction or penalty to the violation of (as a right, obligation, or command)
4. : to define as original and fundamental law antecedent to any possible violation, penalty, or sanction — used chiefly in the phrase sanctioned rights
intransitive verb
: to arise as a preventive of violation of a sanctioned right or obligation — used chiefly in the phrase sanctioning rights
Synonyms: see approve