enjoin
Definitions
To order or urge someone to do something
命令，嘱咐
To legally prohibit by court order (injunction)
（法律）以禁令禁止
Root Breakdown
Root-deriveden- (onto, to put into) + join = to lay a duty onto someone, binding them by command. The joining here is abstract: a obligation is fastened to a person. So enjoin means to order (enjoin someone to keep silent) or, in law, to prohibit by injunction (the court enjoined the firm).
Root join still carries 7 more wordsWhy It Means This
enjoin is tricky because its two senses point opposite ways: 'order to do' and 'forbid from doing.' Both grow from the same idea — binding someone by authority. In everyday formal English it usually means 'urge/command'; in legal English it usually means 'prohibit (by injunction).' Context decides.
Common Collocations
- 1.enjoin someone to do命令某人做
- 2.enjoin silence命令保持安静
- 3.court enjoined法院下令禁止
- 4.enjoin from禁止……
Example Sentences
- 1.
The teacher enjoined the students to stay calm.
- 2.
The court enjoined the company from dumping waste in the river.
- 3.
Tradition enjoins us to honor our elders.