permissive

adjective

per·​mis·​sive pər-ˈmi-siv 

1

archaic : granted on sufferance : tolerated

2

a

: granting or tending to grant permission : tolerant

b

: deficient in firmness or control : indulgent, lax

3

: allowing discretion : optional

reduced the permissive retirement age from 65 to 62

4

: supporting growth or genetic replication (as of a virus)

permissive host cells

permissively adverb

permissiveness noun

Examples of permissive in a Sentence

Some states have more permissive laws than others.

Recent Examples on the Web

Beyond Wells Fargo, regulators effectively abandoned the original Basel III Endgame capital proposal, which would have raised capital requirements at major banks by roughly 20% and replaced it with a far more permissive framework. —Mayra Rodriguez Valladares, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026

California has been too permissive about curriculum adoption, allowing widely varying and often unproven materials across districts. —Mercury News Editorial Board, Mercury News, 27 May 2026

The revenues from the $1,500 permits have been a boon for Rwanda, but have also pushed travelers into less expensive, more permissive markets such as Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. —Adam Erace, Fortune, 24 May 2026

The Swedish Film Institute’s Cinemateket, meanwhile, hosted Svenska Synden – a retrospective examining how Swedish cinema’s permissive approach to nudity and sexuality became an international phenomenon that alarmed censors around the world. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 19 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English permyssyf, from Middle French permissif, from Latin permissus

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for permissive

• derisive
• dismissive
• emissive
• submissive
• transmissive
• missive

Kids Definition

permissive

adjective

per·​mis·​sive pər-ˈmis-iv 

1

: granting or tending to grant permission : allowing

2

: not forbidden : allowable

permissively adverb

permissiveness noun

Medical Definition

permissive

adjective

per·​mis·​sive pər-ˈmis-iv 

: supporting growth or genetic replication (as of a virus)

permissive temperatures

permissive monkey cells

Legal Definition

permissive

adjective

per·​mis·​sive

1

: based on or having permission

permissive occupancy

a permissive user of the vehicle

2

: granting permission or discretion (as to the court)

a permissive statute

3

: not compulsory: as

a

: allowed or made under a standard, rule, or provision that permits discretion or an option see also permissive intervention at intervention, permissive presumption at presumption compare compulsory

b

: allowed under modern rules of civil procedure although not arising from the same transaction or occurrence as the one at issue in the original claim

a permissive counterclaim

see also permissive joinder at joinder

permissively adverb

permissiveness noun