Sanction

v. approve, authorize; endorse, ratify; penalize or encourage as a means of enforcing a law

n. permission, authorization; approve; penalty imposed for disobedience of a law; bonus or reward given for obedience of a law; policy or principle designed to enforce a law

Sanctions is the plural of sanction. Depending on context, a sanction can be either a punishment or a permission. The word is a contronym.Sanctions involving countries:International sanctions, punitive measures adopted by a country or group of countries against another nation for political reasonsDiplomatic sanctions, the reduction or removal of diplomatic ties, such as embassiesEconomic sanctions, typically a ban on trade, possibly limited to certain sectors such as armaments, or with certain exceptions (such as food and medicine)Military sanctions, military interventionTrade sanctions, economic sanctions applied for non-political reasons, typically as part of a trade dispute, or for purely economic reasons, and typically involving tariffs or similar measures, rather than bans.
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Sanction Managed care Any penalty, punitive or disciplinary action imposed on an institution by a regulatory or governmental agency, 3 rd -party [more]Sanction - Community and Resources

Noun
1. formal and explicit approval; "a Democrat usually gets the union's endorsement"
(synonym) countenance, endorsement, indorsement, warrant, imprimatur
(hypernym) approval, commendation
(hyponym) O.K., OK, okay, okey, okeh
2. a mechanism of social control for enforcing a society's standards
(hypernym) social control
3. official permission or approval; "authority for the program was renewed several times"
(synonym) authority, authorization, authorisation
(hypernym) permission
4. the act of final authorization; "it had the sanction of the church"
(hypernym) authorization, authorisation, empowerment
(hyponym) benefit of clergy
Verb
1. give sanction to; "I approve of his educational policies"
(synonym) approve, O.K., okay
(hypernym) authorize, authorise, pass, clear
(derivation) countenance, endorsement, indorsement, warrant, imprimatur
2. give authority or permission to
(hypernym) empower, authorise, authorize
3. give religious sanction to, such as through on oath; "sanctify the marriage"
(hypernym) approve, O.K., okay

n. sanction, punishment, penalization