enjoin

verb

en·join in-ˈjȯin

en-

enjoined; enjoining; enjoins

Synonyms of enjoin

transitive verb

: to direct or impose by authoritative order or with urgent admonition

enjoined us to be careful

: forbid, prohibit

was enjoined by conscience from telling a lie

: to prohibit by a judicial order : put an injunction on

a book had been enjoined prior to publication—David Margolick

Did you know?

What do enjoin and junta have in common?

Enjoin has the Latin verb jungere, meaning "to join," at its root, but the kind of joining expressed by enjoin is quite particular: it is about linking someone to an action or activity by either requiring or prohibiting it. When it's the former at hand—that is, when enjoin is used to mean "to direct or impose by authoritative order or with urgent admonition"—the preposition to is typically employed, as in "they enjoined us to secrecy." When prohibition is involved, from is common, as in "signs enjoin attendees from photographing the event." In legal contexts, enjoining involves prohibition by judicial order, through means of an injunction, as in "the judge enjoined them from selling the contract."

Choose the Right Synonym for enjoin

command, order, bid, enjoin, direct, instruct, charge mean to issue orders.

command and order imply authority and usually some degree of formality and impersonality.

command stresses official exercise of authority.

a general commanding troops

order may suggest peremptory or arbitrary exercise.

ordered his employees about

bid suggests giving orders peremptorily (as to children or servants).

she bade him be seated

enjoin implies giving an order or direction authoritatively and urgently and often with admonition or solicitude.

a sign enjoining patrons to be quiet

direct and instruct both connote expectation of obedience and usually concern specific points of procedure or method, instruct sometimes implying greater explicitness or formality.

directed her assistant to hold all calls

the judge instructed the jury to ignore the remark

charge adds to enjoin an implication of imposing as a duty or responsibility.

charged by the President with a secret mission

Examples of enjoin in a Sentence

He was enjoined by his conscience from telling a lie. The judge enjoined them from selling the property.

Recent Examples on the Web

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.

In the latest iteration of college athletes suing to play beyond exhaustion of their NCAA eligibility, four former JUCO football players who want to play for Vanderbilt and other FBS programs have asked a federal judge in Tennessee to enjoin the NCAA from enforcing eligibility rules. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 9 July 2025 Bastiat has asked a judge to preliminarily and permanently enjoin from Shein and its sellers from infringing its copyrights going forward. —Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 26 June 2025 Along with their civil complaint, the plaintiffs filed an emergency motion asking the court to enjoin the school from eliminating the teams until the litigation has been resolved. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 17 July 2025 Two lower courts rose to the occasion, preliminarily enjoining the mass firings while the litigation remains ongoing. —Sonam Sheth, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for enjoin