sanction
official approval or penalty
Root
- sanct: sacred, holy, or set apart
Other words with the sanct root
- sanctimonious: pretending to be morally superior
- sanctuary: safe or sacred place
Sanction is tricky: authority can bless an action or punish a violation.
The committee sanctioned the plan, while the league sanctioned the cheating team.
Sanction is a two-faced word. The shared idea is official authority: the authority can approve something, or it can impose a penalty when sacred rules are broken.