Sanctions

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Sanctions is the plural of sanction. (Depending on context, a sanction can be either a punishment or a permission. The word is a contronym.)


Sanctions involving countries:

  • International sanctions, punitive measures adopted by a country or group of countries against another nation for political reasons
    • Diplomatic sanctions, the reduction or removal of diplomatic ties, such as embassies
    • Economic sanctions, typically a ban on trade, possibly limited to certain sectors such as armaments, or with certain exceptions (such as food and medicine)
    • Military sanctions, military intervention
  • Trade sanctions, economic sanctions applied for non-political reasons, typically as part of a trade dispute, or for purely economic reasons, and typically involving tariffs or similar measures, rather than bans.

Other meanings:

  • In a legal context, sanctions are penalties imposed by the courts.
  • In a sociology context, sanction may refer to social control.