WordWeb Online

1. Give permission or approval for something
   "I will sanction his educational policies"
   - approve, O.K., okay, OK
    
2. Give authority or permission to
    
3. Give religious sanction to, such as through on oath
    
4. Impose a penalty on; inflict punishment on
   - punish, penalize, penalise [Brit]

1. Formal and explicit approval
   "a Democrat usually gets the union's sanction"
   - countenance, endorsement, indorsement, warrant, imprimatur
    
2. A mechanism of social control for enforcing a society's standards
    
3. Official permission or approval
   "sanction for the program was renewed several times"
   - authority, authorization, authorisation [Brit]
    
4. The act of final authorization
   "it had the sanction of the church"
    
5. Something (e.g. imprisonment or paying a fine) someone is made to do to compensate for a wrongdoing, especially for crime; the act of punishing
   - punishment, penalty, penalization, penalisation [Brit]

Derived forms: sanctioned, sanctioning, sanctions

See also: sanctionative

Type of: approval, authorisation [Brit], authorise [Brit], authorization, authorize, clear, commendation, empower, empowerment, pass, permission, social control

Encyclopedia: Sanction Sanction, Pragmatic