What is a sanction?

• A. Official permission or approval, as for an action
• B. A threat to punish someone for breaking a law or rule
• C. An official order, such as the limiting or stopping of trade, that is taken against a country in order to force it to obey international laws
• D. A formal endorsement by a governing body

Answer: (A)

Sanction here is about official permission or approval for an action. When an authority sanctions something, they authorize it to go ahead. For example, if a city council sanctions a new festival, they officially allow it to take place. There is another use of the word in politics and law, where sanction means a penalty or coercive measure imposed on a country or group to enforce rules, but that is a different sense from the permission one. The options describing punishment or trade restrictions point to that punitive meaning, while the option describing formal approval matches the sense of sanction as official authorization.