Unsanctionable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not capable of being approved or authorized by an official body or authority due to inherent issues or incompatibility
2. Incapable of receiving formal consent or endorsement because it violates prescribed rules or standards
3. Unable to be legitimately permitted or validated by governing entities as it falls outside acceptable limits

Etymology: "Unsanctionable" is simple in its construction: the prefix "un-", meaning "not", attached to "sanctionable," which means "capable of being sanctioned" or authorized. Together they describe something that cannot be officially approved or permitted. The base word "sanctionable" follows the same pattern, built from "sanction" plus the suffix "-able," which marks something that can be done. "Sanction" itself comes from the Latin "sanctio," a decree or ordinance, and it has long carried both the sense of formal approval and, in later usage, the sense of a penalty imposed to enforce rules. The English prefix "un-" is an ancient Germanic element, inherited through Old English, that has been attached freely to adjectives for centuries.

Synonyms: unauthorized, illicit, illegal, unauthorized, prohibited

Antonyms: sanctioned, authorized, permissible, legal, approved