sanction Definition
sanc·tion (saŋk′s̸hən)
noun
- the act of a recognized authority confirming or ratifying an action; authorized approval or permission
- support; encouragement; approval
- something that gives binding force to a law, or secures obedience to it, as the penalty for breaking it, or a reward for carrying it out
- something, as a moral principle or influence, that makes a rule of conduct, a law, etc. binding
- : often used in pl.
- a coercive measure, as a blockade of shipping, usually taken by several nations together, for forcing a nation considered to have violated international law to end the violation
- a coercive measure, as a boycott, taken by a group to enforce demands
- Obsolete a formal decree; law
Etymology: < Fr or L: Fr < L sanctio < sanctus: see saint
transitive verb
to give sanction to; specif.,
- to ratify or confirm
- to authorize or permit; countenance
sanction Related Forms
sanc′·tion·able adjective
sanction Synonyms
sanction
n.
Approval
consent, acquiescence, assent; see permission.A coercive measure
decree, command, writ, sentence, ban, embargo, injunction, loss of reward, penalty, punishment, punitive sanctions, civil sanctions, remuneratory sanctions.
sanction Synonyms
sanction
v.
sanction Finance Definition
- Any of various penalties that may be imposed against an entity or an individual who has violated federal securities laws.
- Any of various penalties that may be imposed against a government, typically by using trade sanctions. In addition, international organizations such as the United Nations may issue sanctions against countries as a deterrent to undesirable activities.
sanction Law Definition
n
A penalty imposed for violating
accepted social norms. A sanction may be civil
or criminal in nature. Criminal
sanctions are either fine, imprisonment, or both.
n
Authorization
and/or approval by someone in a position of authority; for example,
v
the act of imposing a
penalty.
sanction Usage Examples
Converse of object
- impose: Iraq had a right to impose sanctions too, you know.
- lift: The US would use its power of veto to block any proposal to lift the sanctions in the UN Security Council.
- violate: Without such authorization, the flight would have violated UN sanctions.
- enforce: The ship sank on November 11 after being boarded by a US team enforcing UN sanctions.
- suspend: However, Britain and the US have dismissed a Russian draft resolution to suspend sanctions altogether as unacceptable.
- waive: It also would provide less flexibility for the president to waive sanctions for national security reasons.
Preposition: against
Adjective modifier
- un: Saddam meetings Galloway, who was a vocal critic of UN sanctions against Iraq, met Saddam during visits to Baghdad in the 1990s.
- smart: New Zealand also advocates the use of smart sanctions.
- punitive: The Iraqi dictator has been on the receiving end of punitive sanctions for ten years now.
- disciplinary: This case demonstrated that unwarranted demotion and disciplinary sanctions would amount to constructive dismissal should the employe resign.
- criminal: EU governments think criminal sanctions should be a national matter only.
- penal: The ICBL calls on all States Parties to enact such legislation quickly, including imposing penal sanctions for treaty violations.
Modifies a noun
- detection: What measures were being undertaken to reduce the sanction detection rate for homophobic crime?
- regime: WHO blames the sanctions regime for some of the problems.
- buster: That the biggest sanctions busters were not me or Russian politicians or French politicians.
- committee: Many of the contracts are approved individually by a Security Council sanctions committee, any one of whose 15 members can block them.
Noun used with modifier
trade: Baghdad is under United Nations ' trade sanctions following its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Preposition: for
- non-compliance: Sanctions for non-compliance with these regulations are detailed in Section 10.
- non-payment: It also has some of the severest sanctions for the non-payment of any debt.
Browse dictionary entries near sanction
- ‹ sanctimony
- ‹ sanctimonious
- ‹ sanctify
- ‹ sanctified
- ‹ Sancho Panza
- ‹ Sancerre
- ‹ sanbenito
- ‹ sanatorium
- ‹ sanative
- ‹ Sana
- sanctity ›
- sanctuary ›
- sanctum ›
- sanctum sanctorum ›
- Sanctus ›
- Sanctus bell ›
- sand ›
- sand-cast ›
- sand dab ›
- sand dollar ›

