sanction noun
1 official permission
ADJ. official | divine, religious
VERB + SANCTION give sb/sth The conference gave its official sanction to the change of policy.
PREP. with/without sb/sth's ~ No decision can be taken without the sanction of the complete committee.
2 punishment
ADJ. heavy, severe, strict | final, ultimate | effective | limited | available The school will use all available sanctions to maintain discipline. | civil, criminal, disciplinary | legal, penal, social
VERB + SANCTION impose | use
PREP. ~ against There were strict sanctions against absenteeism. | ~ for Employers imposed heavy sanctions for union activity.
3 (usually sanctions) against a country
ADJ. punitive | international, UN | economic, financial, military, trade
VERB + SANCTION impose | lift | break Some companies have broken sanctions by supplying arms to the warring states. | call for
SANCTION + NOUN order The company is in breach of a sanctions order. | busting Several firms were under investigation for sanctions busting.
PREP. ~ against The UN called for sanctions against the invading country.
PHRASES the imposition of sanctions, the lifting of sanctions, a threat of sanctions
sanction verb
ADV. officially | legally, socially Slavery was once socially sanctioned. | tacitly He had tacitly sanctioned repression against the opposition parties.
VERB + SANCTION refuse to
You can also check other dicts: sanction (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition