laissez-faire

noun

lais·​sez-faire ˌle-ˌsā-ˈfer 

ˌlā-,

-ˌzā- 

1

: a doctrine opposing governmental interference in economic affairs beyond the minimum necessary for the maintenance of peace and property rights

argued that the problem with oil prices was too much laissez-faire

2

: a philosophy or practice characterized by a usually deliberate abstention from direction or interference especially with individual freedom of choice and action

the university has a policy of laissez-faire regarding nonacademic student activities

laissez-faire adjective

Did you know?

The French phrase laissez faire literally means “allow to do,” with the idea being “let people do as they choose.” The origins of laissez-faire are associated with the Physiocrats, a group of 18th-century French economists who believed that government policy should not interfere with the operation of natural economic laws. (The actual coiner of the phrase may have been French economist Vincent de Gournay, or it may have been François Quesnay, who is considered the group’s founder and leader.) The original phrase was “laissez faire, laissez passer,” with the second part meaning “let (things) pass.” Laissez-faire, which first showed up in an English context in the first half of the 19th century, can still mean “a doctrine opposing governmental interference in economic affairs,” but it is also used in broader contexts in which a “hands-off” or “anything-goes” policy or attitude is adopted. It is frequently used as an adjective meaning “favoring a ‘hands-off’ policy,” as in “laissez-faire economics.”

Examples of laissez-faire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To be sure, in the past decade Democrats and Republicans have abandoned the fiscal straitjacket of the Nineties, drifting away from laissez-faire economics and toward more nationalist policies on trade, infrastructure, and immigration. —Harper's Magazine, 21 June 2024

Governments are turning towards industrial policy and economic nationalism, and away from laissez-faire liberalism—in other words, closer to the policies long espoused by Tokyo and Seoul. —Will Daniel, Fortune Asia, 30 June 2024

Popular on Variety The laissez-faire format for the debate, in which CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash were to act as facilitators and not step in as fact-checkers, was agreed to by both Trump and Biden camps. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 28 June 2024

Both actresses originally auditioned for the role of Amy Santiago, the only character written as Latina and the eventual love interest to Andy Samberg’s kooky, laissez-faire Jake Peralta. —Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

French laissez faire, imperative of laisser faire to let (people) do (as they choose)

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

laissez-faire

noun

lais·​sez-faire

ˌle-ˌsā-ˈfa(ə)r,

ˌlā-,

-ˌzā-,

-ˈfe(ə)r

: a doctrine opposing governmental interference in economic affairs

laissez-faire adjective

Etymology

from the French phrase laissez faire "let (people) do (as they choose)"