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GRE vocabulary

sanction

verbHigh-frequency wordMore S words

to give official approval or permission for something

Word origin: From Latin sancire, to make holy or ratify.

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In a sentence

Sanction in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing sanction in a sentence.

The board sanctioned the new policy after months of debate.

The regulatory body refused to sanction the merger until the antitrust concerns were fully addressed.

Synonyms
authorizeendorseratify
Antonyms
prohibitforbid

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Question 1 of 3

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Verbal · Text Completion

Although the senator's memoir was marketed as a frank reckoning with his failures, reviewers found it relentlessly blank, dwelling on grievances and recasting every setback as the fault of his adversaries.

Select the word that best completes the sentence.

Usage & nuance

Using “sanction” well

Sanction is notoriously contranymic: as a verb it means to give official approval, but as a noun (often plural) it can mean a penalty imposed to enforce compliance. Here the approval sense is intended, so let context decide.

Common questions

Questions about “sanction”

Sanction (verb) means to give official approval or permission for something
Here is sanction used in an example sentence: "The board sanctioned the new policy after months of debate." Another example: "The regulatory body refused to sanction the merger until the antitrust concerns were fully addressed."
Common synonyms for sanction include authorize, endorse, ratify.
Antonyms of sanction include prohibit, forbid.
In the approval sense it clusters with authorize, endorse, and ratify in Sentence Equivalence. Its antonyms prohibit and forbid mark the opposite; beware its second, penalizing sense as a trap.
Yes. Sanction is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

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