1. authorization: official permission or approval for a course of action unable to proceed without the sanction of the board
2. support: something that serves as approval or encouragement, e.g. social acceptance or custom
3. law: a law or rule that leads to a penalty being imposed when it is disobeyed
4. penalty imposed for breaking rule: a punishment imposed as a result of breaking a law or rule
5. international relations punitive measure to pressure country: a measure taken by one or more nations to apply pressure on another nation to conform to international law or opinion
(
often used in the plural
)
imposed trade sanctions
6. ethics principle determining behavior: an ethical principle or consideration that determines or influences somebody's conduct
transitive verb (past and past participlesanc·tioned, present participlesanc·tion·ing, 3rd person present singularsanc·tions)
Definition:
1. authorize something: to grant official approval or permission for something The county government refused to sanction the proposed design.
2. tacitly approve of something: to allow something to be tolerated or accepted The school's inaction further sanctions this behavior.
[15th century. Via French< Latin sanction-< sanctus "holy" (see saint)]
