sanctions 1 of 2

noun

plural of sanction
as in permissions
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

sanctions

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of sanction
as in approves
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sanctions
Noun
The Seattle-area activists appear undeterred by the sanctions. — Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026 The decline has accelerated sharply in recent weeks, since the United States ratcheted up sanctions and enforced a naval blockade. — Erika Solomon, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026 Zelenskyy repeated his appeal for foreign countries to close loopholes in international sanctions on Russia and to add more restrictions on its trade. — Hanna Arhirova, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026 Cornell has said the process led to a range of sanctions, including suspensions and expulsions, and the Chi Phi chapter was closed and remains barred from campus. — Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2026 For allegedly breaking the school’s protest rules, the student could — if found responsible — face sanctions including denial of access to campus, suspension and even expulsion. — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026 Rivera said Rubio asked for his help in early 2017 developing a Venezuela policy that included sanctions against Maduro officials and business associates, visa revocations, the release of political prisoners and free elections. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026 At its conclusion, the hearing panel issued a range of sanctions, which included expulsions and suspensions from Cornell. — Mahsa Saeidi, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026 School officials on Monday declined to release more information on the sanctions, including how many students were expelled and suspended. — Dave Collins, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026
Verb
The bill sanctions Russian financial institutions and its largest state energy projects while targeting Russian partners in the oil and natural gas trade. — Chris Boccia, ABC News, 14 July 2026 For starters the World Cup is run by the same organization, FIFA, which sanctions virtually every level of soccer globally, from the men’s and women’s World Cups, to confederation competitions including the UEFA Championships and the Copa América, to most major age-group tournaments. — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026 An autocratic government that sanctions violence. — Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 4 Feb. 2026 But some agricultural organizations that represent them have stressed their businesses will be hurt too if the US sanctions South Africa. — Kate Bartlett, NPR, 10 Nov. 2025 God never sanctions cruelty; love that harms is not love at all. — Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanctions
  1. permissions
  2. approves
  3. authorizations
  4. ratifies
  5. consents
  6. confirms
Noun
  • RatHat relies heavily on tricking someone into installing a malicious Android app and approving powerful permissions.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Reports of Muse sharing a user’s home address with a prospective buyer and accessing private messages despite the user’s understanding of permissions illustrate those concerns.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of permissions
Verb
  • Achieve approves debt consolidation loans for borrowers with a FICO® Score of 560 and Upstart’s underwriting model looks at hundreds of data points beyond your credit score, including education, work history, income and savings patterns.
    — Andreina Rodriguez, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
  • An agent that confidently approves the wrong payment, escalates an unstable interaction or quietly talks a user into a bad decision belongs in a different category.
    — Puneet Gaur, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of approves
Noun
  • In between are electronic travel authorizations and simplified visa procedures, many of which can be completed relatively quickly.
    — Jean Francois Harvey, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Many handled important logistical tasks, Forest Service staffers said, like securing authorizations for equipment, land use and water supplies during wildfires.
    — Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of authorizations
Verb
  • Instead, party task forces (known as work teams) are mobilized to draft the verdict, colleagues from their workplace endorse it, and then a committee at a higher level of administration ratifies it.
    — ANDREW MERTHA, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The private sector’s role is to build the commercial reality that policy later ratifies.
    — Hany Naeem, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of ratifies
Noun
  • For those with an eye on the future and a mindset of settlement and creating homes for others, planning and consents are in place for 400 new beachfront properties.
    — Nielsen Dinwoodie, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • This means cost-sharing for stormwater improvements will continue to be structured by the 83/17 split for decades to come – unless GLWA consents to renegotiating the deal.
    — Nicole Van Lier, The Conversation, 13 May 2026
Definition of consents
Verb
  • That second statement basically confirms it as fact to the other women.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
  • If the vacancy remains, district judges may appoint a prosecutor to serve until the president nominates and the Senate confirms a replacement.
    — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of confirms

Browse Nearby Words

sanctioning
sanctions
sanctity
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sanctions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanctions. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of regimen

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All