Sentence:  The threat of effective anti-trust <WSD>action</WSD> , provoked by `` gouging the public '' through price increases not justified by cost increases , and fears of endangering relations with customers , Congress , the general public and the press , all operate to keep price increases in some relation to cost increases . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a judicial proceeding brought by one party against another; one party prosecutes another for a wrong done or for protection of a right or for prevention of a wrong