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sanction

SANGK-shun ˈsæŋkʃən

nounverbC1GRESATTOEFLUPSC

formallegal

A threatened penalty for disobeying a law; official approval or authorization for an action.

Contradictory auto-antonym: means either penalty/restriction OR official authorization/approval based on context.

The story behind the word. From Latin 'sanctio', derived from 'sancire' meaning to make sacred or establish decree. Originally, a sanction was a decree declaring law sacred, making violation punishable; hence it acquired dual meanings of decree and penalty.

Word relationships

penalty: Penalty implies punishment for past wrong; sanction in international affairs aims to compel future policy change.
approval: Approval indicates general agreement; sanction (in positive sense) gives legal authorization.

reward: In the penalty sense, a reward incentivizes behavior through positive benefit.

Commonly confused with

embargo: An embargo is a specific trade ban; sanctions include diplomatic, financial, travel, and trade restrictions.

Collocations

impose sanctions
lift sanctions
economic sanctions
official sanction

Example sentences

"The United Nations voted to levy economic sanctions on countries violating peace accords." Economic Policy
"The government agency gave official sanction to the new renewable energy project." Regulatory Approval

Memory hook

SANCTION: Sacred law that can punish you OR permit you. Sanction = Official penalty OR official authorization.

When not to use

Ensure context makes clear whether you mean penalizing or permitting, to prevent ambiguity.

Fun facts

Sanction is one of the most famous contronyms (words that are their own opposite) in the English language.