Sanction

 WORD OF THE DAY

sanction / verb / SANK-shun

Definition
1: to make valid or binding usually by a formal procedure (such as ratification)
2: to give effective or authoritative approval or consent to
3a: to attach a sanction or penalty to the violation of (a right, obligation, or command)
3b: to impose a sanction or penalty upon

Examples
"Johnson himself was fined 50 pounds (about $63), making him the first British prime minister to be sanctioned for breaking the law while in office."
— Jaweed Kaleem, The Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2022

 In low-income countries, families spend 42% of their household incomes on food but as Western nations moved to sanction Russia, the price of fuel and staple food items like wheat, sugar and cooking oil soared.
— Sara Edwards, USA TODAY, 8 July 2022

Did You Know?
The noun sanction, meaning "authoritative approval" or "a coercive measure," entered English in the 15th century, and originally referred to a formal decree or law, especially an ecclesiastical decree. The Latin sancire, meaning "to make holy," is an ancestor.
The noun's meaning then extended in different directions. By the end of the 17th century, it could refer to both a means of enforcing a law (a sense that in the 20th century we began using especially for economic penalties against nations violating international law) and the process of formally approving or ratifying a law.
When the verb sanction appeared in the 18th century, it had to do with ratifying laws as well, but it soon acquired an additional, looser sense: "to approve."