Sanction
Sanction , noun
[Latin sanctio, from sancire, sanctum to render sacred or inviolable, to fix unalterably: compare French sanction. See Saint.]
1.
Solemn or ceremonious ratification; an official act of a superior by which he ratifies and gives validity to the act of some other person or body; establishment or furtherance of anything by giving authority to it; confirmation; approbation.
The strictest professors of reason have added the sanction of their testimony.
2.
Anything done or said to enforce the will, law, or authority of another; as, legal sanctions.
Sanction , transitive verb
To give sanction to; to ratify; to confirm; to approve.
Would have counseled, or even sanctioned, such perilous experiments.