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Literary notes about sanctioned (AI summary)

The term "sanctioned" is employed in literature to convey a sense of formal or institutional approval as well as the imposition of legitimacy. Authors use it to denote that an act, tradition, or decision carries the weight of authority—rendering it socially, legally, or morally acceptable. At times it highlights personal acquiescence or restraint, as when an individual’s decision is influenced by another’s approval [1]. In other contexts, it underscores that a practice, purchase, or even a decree has been conferred legitimacy by impersonal systems or customary laws, whether those be ecclesiastical [2], musical [3], judicial [4], or governmental [5]. This versatile use reinforces both the constructed authority behind societal norms and the tension between individual choice and collective mandate.
  1. Even if she sanctioned it, I [pg 243] wouldn't.
    — from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  2. If he is, I think we may conclude that this wonderful man is sanctioned by the Church, and that will be a great relief to my mind.”
    — from Cranford by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
  3. Liszt invariably sacrificed program to sanctioned musical form.
    — from Musical Portraits : Interpretations of Twenty Modern Composers by Paul Rosenfeld
  4. Beauchamp, solemn transactions should be sanctioned by a witness.
    — from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
  5. The Union is sanctioned by the manners and desires of the people; its results are palpable, its benefits visible.
    — from Democracy in America — Volume 1 by Alexis de Tocqueville

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