Definition of: sanction

(sangk′shən) v.t.
1. To approve authoritatively; confirm; ratify.
2. To countenance; allow. See synonyms under ABET, ALLOW, CONFIRM, RATIFY.
—noun
1. Final and authoritative confirmation; justification or ratification.
2. A formal decree.
3. A provision for securing conformity to law, as by the enactment of rewards or penalties or both; a reward or penalty.
4. plural In international law, a coercive measure adopted, usually by several nations at the same time, to force a nation which is violating international law to desist or yield to adjudication, by withholding loans, limiting trade relations, or by military force and blockade.
5. In ethics, that which makes virtue morally obligatory, or which furnishes a motive for man to seek it. [<MF <L sanctio, -onis ordaining something inviolable, a decree <sanctus, pp. of sancire make, sacred, decree]