1. 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. approve, authorize; endorse, ratify; penalize or encourage as a means of enforcing a law. sanctionsanction , n. [l. sanctio, from sancire, sanctum to render sacred or inviolable, to fix unalterably: cf. f. sanction. see: saint.]