Both Uses of
sanction
in
1984 by Orwell
- Repairs, except what you could do for yourself, had to be sanctioned by remote committees which were liable to hold up even the mending of a window-pane for two years.
p. 21..1 *sanctioned = approved
- No imaginable committee would ever sanction such a marriage even if Katharine, Winston's wife, could somehow have been got rid of.
p. 132..0sanction = approve
Definition:
-
(sanction as in: cannot sanction such behavior) formal approvaleditor's notes: Ironically, this word has contradictory meanings that are frequently used. When selecting words for an audience who may not be sure of this word's contextual meaning, consider substituting a word like endorse for this sense of sanction.