sanctionable.
Like “sanction,” “sanctionable”carries a double sense of approval and disapproval. Most often, “sanctionable” means “deserving punishment” — e.g.: “‘It had never been suggested that a physician’s discussion of marijuana as a medical option was illegal or otherwise sanctionable,’ the suit states.” Mike McKee, “Doctors Fight Back on Prop 215,” Recorder (S.F.), 15 Jan. 1997, at 1.
But the word sometimes means “approvable.” Avoid it in this sense — e.g.: “In Massachusetts, Gov. William Weld has weighed in with a proposal that medical use [of marijuana] be sanctionable [read ‘approvable’] by a panel of physicians.” D.A. Mittell Jr., “Legalizing Pot Is Not Just a Question of Medicine,” Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Mass.), 8 Feb. 1997, at 19.
For information about the Language-Change Index, click here.
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Quotation of the Day: “Unfortunately, in today’s world the competition for attention is so intense and the aversion to the printed word so strong that you won’t be read, or won’t be read properly, unless you can arrange to enlist the cooperation of your readers. And you can do this only by arousing and maintaining their interest.” Ernst Jacobi, Writing at Work: Dos, Don’ts, and How Tos 9 (1976).
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