saengk shən
noun
1: an official or authoritative approval, as of an action, behavior, or the like; permission.
Under pressure from citizen groups, the city council refused to give sanction to the building project.
2: societal or public support for an action, course of action, or behavior.
The president’s decision had the sanction of the people.
3: something intended to ensure compliance with a law, such as a penalty for disobedience.
Sanctions are in place to prevent such shady dealings.
4: a principle, consideration, or influence that lends binding force to a moral law, rule of conduct, or the like.
5: an official decree or law.
6: an action taken by one or more nations and designed to force another nation to comply with a legal, ethical, or moral code.
The Council will impose sanctions on the small country if it continues to violate international laws.
Trade has resumed now that economic sanctions have been lifted.
The U.N. Security Council has imposed sanctions against the al-Qaida-linked terrorist group Boko Haram, which has carried out a wave of deadly attacks and the recent abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria, the United States said Thursday.