enjoin means to lay upon, as an order or command; to give an injunction to; to direct with authority; to order; to charge. It carries an Arena rating of 1721, earned across 98 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, enjoin ranks #1,238 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #2,082 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,385 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #3,964 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
enjoin is pronounced /ɛnˈd͡ʒɔɪn/.
Why “enjoin” is a great word
ENJOIN — [Verb] To authoritatively order or command someone to do something, or, in law, to prohibit or restrain by a judicial injunction. From Middle English enjoinen, from Old French enjoindre ("to impose, enjoin"), from Latin iniungere ("to attach, impose upon"), from in- ("in, upon") + iungere ("to join"). Unlike "command," which suggests a broad order from authority, or "prohibit," which denotes a simple forbiddance, to enjoin is to formally yoke an obligation or a restraint upon a person, most often through the weight of the law. It is the judge's signed writ halting the demolition of a sacred grove, the urgent directive to hold the bridge at all costs, and the solemn charge from a dying parent to keep the family together—the moment free action is irrevocably joined to consequence, a formal knot tied upon the will.
Etymology
From Middle English enjoinen, from Old French enjoindre (“to join with”), from Latin iniungo (“to attach”), a compound of in- (“into” “upon”) and iungo.
verb
- To lay upon, as an order or command; to give an injunction to; to direct with authority; to order; to charge.e.g.“I am enjoin'd by oath to observe three things:” — c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blou
- To prescribe under authority; to ordain.e.g.“They [the Noahide laws] also enjoin the establishment of a just system of laws and courts.” — 2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 15:
- To prohibit or restrain by a judicial order or decree; to put an injunction on.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.