permission

noun

per·​mis·​sion pər-ˈmi-shən 

1

: the act of permitting

2

: formal consent : authorization

Synonyms

• consent
• authorization
• granting

Examples of permission in a Sentence

They got permission from the city to build an apartment complex.

The teacher gave me her permission to go home early.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Hermit is your permission slip to step back and reconnect with what matters most to you, especially when no one is watching. —Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025

Reprinted by permission of Scribner, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC. —Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025

And The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the military from engaging in domestic law enforcement without permission from Congress. —Alina Hartounian, NPR, 1 Oct. 2025

Those human errors arguably include cleaning the kitchen where Greenberg died and Sam Goldberg’s uncle mysteriously taking Greenberg’s computer from her bedroom without permission after her death. —Addie Morfoot, Variety, 30 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin permission-, permissio, from permittere

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for permission

• addition
• admission
• ambition
• attrition
• audition
• clinician
• cognition
• coition
• commission
• condition
• contrition
• dentition

Kids Definition

permission

noun

per·​mis·​sion pər-ˈmish-ən 

1

: the act of permitting

2

: the consent of a person in authority

has permission to leave