SANCTION

I. noun see: sacred Date: 15th century a formal decree, 2. a solemn agreement ; oath , something that makes an oath binding, the detriment, loss of reward, or coercive intervention annexed to a violation of a law as a means of enforcing the law, 4. a consideration, principle, or influence (as of conscience) that impels to moral action or determines moral judgment, a mechanism of social control for enforcing a society's standards, explicit or official approval, permission, or ratification ; approbation , an economic or military coercive measure adopted usually by several nations in concert for forcing a nation violating international law to desist or yield to adjudication, II. transitive verb (~ed; ~ing) Date: 1778 to make valid or binding usually by a formal procedure (as ratification), to give effective or authoritative approval or consent to, see: approve ~able adjective