as in permission
the approval by someone in authority for the doing of something
you cannot make a student video without your faculty advisor's sanction of its subject matter prior to shooting
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to approve
to give official acceptance of as satisfactory
the administration will sanction almost any field trip with educational value
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sanction
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 30 Jan. 2026
The sanctions mean that affected officials and organizations will have their assets frozen and their travel to Europe banned, according to Barrot.
—Sam McNeil, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026
Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 9 Jan. 2026
Decent countries should sanction us economically, and our leaders should be charged as war criminals and have their assets frozen.
—Elie Mystal, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sanction
Noun
Earlier today, China lifted sanctions on six British lawmakers after talks between Starmer and Xi.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 30 Jan. 2026
The sanctions mean that affected officials and organizations will have their assets frozen and their travel to Europe banned, according to Barrot.
—Sam McNeil, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026
Verb
The Olina, previously named the Minerva M, was sanctioned by the United States for its role in transporting Russian oil, according to The Wall Street Journal.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 9 Jan. 2026
Decent countries should sanction us economically, and our leaders should be charged as war criminals and have their assets frozen.
—Elie Mystal, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sanction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanction
Noun
-
Used with the permission of the publisher, Viking.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce did not grant a license or permission of any kind to the production involving Sydney Sweeney as reported by TMZ, nor did anyone seek a license or permission from the Chamber for that production.—
Christina Dugan Ramirez,
FOXNews.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
That may be a good idea, as the department is already struggling with significant IDR application backlogs that may be dwarfed by a surge of new applications once the SAVE plan settlement agreement is approved.—
Adam S. Minsky,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
In November, shareholders approved a pay package that could eventually award him up to $1 trillion if the company meets a series of ambitious targets.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
There is a legal authorization for the use of force, which is what makes this so different than the use of the military force against Venezuela or Greenland or Cuba or wherever the president wants to take us to war next.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Notably, the company has a $1 billion buyback authorization with no end date.—
TipRanks.com Staff,
CNBC,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
South Korea’s legislature hasn’t ratified the trade agreement due to a dispute over conflicting interpretations of its implementation.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Deal to cut tariffs and ease regulatory barriers A formal signing of the deal could come later this year after officials go through the legal details of the text and the EU Parliament ratifies it.—
Rajesh Roy,
Fortune,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has refused to budge, defending blue slips as a core component of the Senate’s constitutional role in providing advice and consent.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prohibits school personnel from disclosing a student's records to an immigration official unless the school has consent from the student’s parent or the official has a valid subpoena or court order.—
Erick Trevino,
AZCentral.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The last large-scale granting of legal status took place almost 21 years ago, under the government of José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero, which processed more than 576,000 applications.—
Pau Mosquera,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Figure’s business centers around putting mortgages on the blockchain, which the company says speeds up the granting and funding of home loans.—
Jason Del Rey,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sanction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanction. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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