unsanctioned

U1N1S1A1N1C3T1I1O1N1E1D2

adjective

Not sanctioned; not approved by a sanctioning body.

Similar
unofficial
OriginEnglish sanctioned ← Middle English un- ← Old English un- →
UncommonScrabble 15
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Meanings

unsanctioned1

adjectiveunsanctioned (comparative more unsanctioned, superlative most unsanctioned)

comparative more unsanctioned · superlative most unsanctioned

  1. Not sanctioned; not approved by a sanctioning body.

    The paperback field as a whole was perferse in a more general and diffuse way, somewhat in the manner of dreams that refuse to censor desire when it strays towards socially unsanctioned ends.

    2001, Susan Stryker, Queer Pulp, page 8

unsanctioned2

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of unsanction

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivewithout explicit official permission

Similar
unofficial
Also see
nonsanctionedunofficial

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Germanic*un-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*un-
  5. Old Englishun-
  6. Middle Englishun-
  7. Englishun-
  8. Englishsanctioned
  9. Englishunsanctioned

From un- + sanctioned.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

German nicht genehmigt
  • nicht genehmigtnot approved
Italian non approvato, non autorizzato
  • non approvatonot approved
  • non autorizzatonot approved
Cite this entry
APA

unsanctioned. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsanctioned

MLA

“unsanctioned.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsanctioned. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unsanctioned,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsanctioned.

Source: unsanctioned on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.