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What do enjoin and junta have in common?
Enjoin has the Latin verb jungere, meaning "to join," at its root, but the kind of joining expressed by enjoin is quite particular: it is about linking someone to an action or activity by either requiring or prohibiting it. When it's the former at hand—that is, when enjoin is used to mean "to direct or impose by authoritative order or with urgent admonition"—the preposition to is typically employed, as in "they enjoined us to secrecy." When prohibition is involved, from is common, as in "signs enjoin attendees from photographing the event." In legal contexts, enjoining involves prohibition by judicial order, through means of an injunction, as in "the judge enjoined them from selling the contract."
Synonyms
Examples of enjoin in a Sentence
Joshua Stein, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024
Alleging that Snapchat willfully overlooks harms to kids while advertising its platform as safe, the State of New Mexico claims that Snapchat owner Snap has violated the state's Unfair Practices Act and must be enjoined as a public nuisance.
—Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 6 Sep. 2024
Who knew cancer could both enjoin—and entail—such vigor?
—Will Self, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
After Georgia voters began heading to the polls Tuesday for the first day of early voting in the state, a judge enjoined election officials from moving forward with a controversial new rule that would require the hand counting of ballots after polls close on Nov. 5.
—Graham Kates, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near enjoin
Cite this Entry
“Enjoin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enjoin. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
enjoin
verb
Legal Definition
enjoin
transitive verb
W. J. Brennan, Jr.Anglo-French enjoindre to impose, constrain, from Old French, from Latin injungere to attach, impose, from in- on + jungere to join
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