enjoin
verb
en·join in-ˈjȯin 
en-
enjoined; enjoining; enjoins
transitive verb
1
: to direct or impose by authoritative order or with urgent admonition
enjoined us to be careful
2
a
: forbid, prohibit
was enjoined by conscience from telling a lie
b
: to prohibit by a judicial order : put an injunction on
a book had been enjoined prior to publication
David Margolick
David Margolick
Did you know?
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
- call (for)
- claim
- clamor (for)
- command
- demand
- exact
- insist (on)
- press (for)
- quest
- stipulate (for)
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
He was enjoined by his conscience from telling a lie. The judge enjoined them from selling the property.
Recent Examples on the Web The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, also asks the court to permanently enjoin Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, from retaliating against Mr. Warren. Joseph De Avila, WSJ, 17 Aug. 2022 On Monday, Scott Zweig, an attorney who has been a vocal opponent to changing the mascots, filed a lawsuit along with resident Mary McGowan seeking to enjoin the school board from voting on the matter. Ted Glanzer, Hartford Courant, 10 June 2022 Multiple lawsuits are pending to enjoin California’s mandates. Kenin M. Spivak, National Review, 8 Mar. 2022 Project Veritas tries to embarrass progressives by making secret videos of them, and last year petitioned the Court to enjoin Massachusetts from enforcing a state law that bans the surreptitious taping of public officials. Jane Mayer, The New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2022 In the Arkansas case, plaintiffs are asking the court to enjoin Arkansas from using the maps for state House elections, setting up a legal fight months before the boundaries are set to be put to use. Ryan Tarinelli, Arkansas Online, 30 Dec. 2021 Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett have declined to enjoin New York’s and Maine’s healthcare-worker vaccine mandates that deny religious, but not medical, exemptions. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 20 Dec. 2021 The lawsuit also seeks to enjoin James' involvement in any civil or criminal actions against the former President or his company. Sonia Moghe, CNN, 20 Dec. 2021 The Court previously refused, by a slim 5-4 vote, to temporarily enjoin enforcement of the Texas law prior to holding a full oral argument on it. Evan Gerstmann, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021 See More
Joseph De Avila, WSJ, 17 Aug. 2022 On Monday, Scott Zweig, an attorney who has been a vocal opponent to changing the mascots, filed a lawsuit along with resident Mary McGowan seeking to enjoin the school board from voting on the matter. Ted Glanzer, Hartford Courant, 10 June 2022 Multiple lawsuits are pending to enjoin California’s mandates. Kenin M. Spivak, National Review, 8 Mar. 2022 Project Veritas tries to embarrass progressives by making secret videos of them, and last year petitioned the Court to enjoin Massachusetts from enforcing a state law that bans the surreptitious taping of public officials. Jane Mayer, The New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2022 In the Arkansas case, plaintiffs are asking the court to enjoin Arkansas from using the maps for state House elections, setting up a legal fight months before the boundaries are set to be put to use. Ryan Tarinelli, Arkansas Online, 30 Dec. 2021 Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett have declined to enjoin New York’s and Maine’s healthcare-worker vaccine mandates that deny religious, but not medical, exemptions. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 20 Dec. 2021 The lawsuit also seeks to enjoin James' involvement in any civil or criminal actions against the former President or his company. Sonia Moghe, CNN, 20 Dec. 2021 The Court previously refused, by a slim 5-4 vote, to temporarily enjoin enforcement of the Texas law prior to holding a full oral argument on it. Evan Gerstmann, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French enjoindre, from Latin injungere, from in- + jungere to join — more at yoke
First Known Use
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Legal Definition
enjoin
transitive verb
en·join in-ˈjȯin
: to prohibit by judicial order : issue an injunction against
a three-judge district court had enjoined the plans W. J. Brennan, Jr.
W. J. Brennan, Jr.enjoins
verb
1
as in demands
to ask for (something) earnestly or with authority police enjoined the community's full cooperation in getting rid of the drug dealers Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- demands
- requires
- asks
- commands
- claims
- wants
- requests
- exacts
- needs
- necessitates
- imposes
- stipulates (for)
- quests
- insists (on)
- takes
- presses (for)
- clamors (for)
- warrants
- harasses
- calls (for)
- requisitions
- pleads (for)
- hounds
- cries (for)
- duns
- badgers
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- relinquishes
- surrenders
- yields
- gives up
2
as in instructs
to issue orders to (someone) by right of authority undeterred, the captain enjoined his crew to sail at full speed into the mine-filled harbor Synonyms & Similar Words
- instructs
- tells
- orders
- asks
- commands
- directs
- advises
- adjures
- warns
- begs
- bids
- beseeches
- entreats
- requires
- compels
- authorizes
- appoints
- obliges
- counsels
- charges
- bosses (around)
- petitions
- assigns
- requests
- coerces
- supervises
- forces
- superintends
- constrains
- conducts
- oversees
- manages
- leads
- commissions
- controls
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- follows
- obeys
- minds
- observes
- keeps
- complies (with)
3
as in forbids
to order not to do or use or to be done or used Quakerism enjoins the taking of human life Synonyms & Similar Words
- forbids
- prohibits
- bans
- outlaws
- discourages
- proscribes
- prevents
- halts
- interdicts
- stops
- excludes
- precludes
- bars
- restrains
- dissuades
- deters
- subdues
- represses
- quashes
- debars
- deprives
- disallows
- suppresses
- silences
- rejects
- curbs
- quells
- squelches
- hinders
- impedes
- repudiates
- inhibits
- shuts out
- obstructs
- squashes
- blocks
- vetoes
- rules out
- checks
- embargoes
- cracks down (on)
- clamps down (on)
- bridles
- puts down
- crushes
- snuffs (out)
- reins (in)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- permits
- allows
- lets
- authorizes
- approves
- endorses
- suffers
- encourages
- indorses
- promotes
- supports
- sanctions
- warrants
- cultivates
- nourishes
- furthers
- nurtures
- orders
- abets
- advances
- licenses
- commands
- tolerates
- endures
- forwards
- bids
- abides
- bears
- licences
- brooks
- countenances