A sanction may be either a permission or a restriction, depending upon context, as the word is an auto-antonym.
Examples of sanctions include:
Government and law Sanctions (law), penalties imposed by courts Economic sanctions, typically a ban on trade, possibly limited to certain sectors (such as armaments), or with certain exceptions (such as food and medicine), e.g., Sanctions against Iran Sanctions against North Korea International sanctions, coercive measures adopted by a country or a group of countries against another state or individual(s) in order to elicit a change in their behavior International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War Pragmatic sanction, historically, a sovereign's solemn decree which addresses a matter of primary importance and which has the force of fundamental law
Television episodes "Sanction", Freezing season 1, episode 7 (2011) "Sanctions", Gangsta episode 5 (2015) "The Sanction", V: The Series episode 5 (1984)
Other uses Sanctions, a mechanism of social control Sports governing body or sanctioning body
See also
Sanctions involving Russia Sanctioned name, a special name in mycology Wikipedia:Sanctions