Word
injunction
Phoneticsin·junc·tion
US/ˌɪnˈdʒəŋkʃən/
UK/ɪndʒˈʌŋkʃən/
Definitions
01legal court order
n. an official order from a court that stops someone from doing something.
n. a judicial remedy in the form of a court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. Often used to prevent immediate harm before a full trial.
“The company sought a court injunction to stop the former employee from sharing secret information.”
“The judge granted an interim injunction, effectively halting the construction project until the environmental impact study could be properly reviewed by the council.”
Formal · Technical
Usage
Commonly used with the verbs 'grant', 'issue', 'seek', or 'lift'.
02authoritative command
n. a strong or formal instruction to do something.
n. an authoritative warning or order; a precept or mandate issued by a person or body in power.
“The doctor's injunction against smoking was ignored by the patient.”
“Despite the strict parental injunction against playing near the river, the children often wandered toward the water's edge after school.”
Formal · Literary
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“Two 15-year-olds, backed by a digital rights group, sought a High Court injunction to block it .” “On Friday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the country’s highest court for a stay on a lower court’s injunction that paused Trump’s building efforts while litigation proceeds.” “Supreme Court held in 2025 that district court judges couldn’t impose nationwide injunctions .” Etymology
From Middle English iniunccyon, iniunccion, from Old French injonctïon, from Latin iniūnctiō (“command, injunction”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/injunction