permissiveness

noun

as in licentiousness

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of permissiveness Perhaps because of the filming frenzy in the concourse, or the transgressive aim of the competition, an air of permissiveness presided. — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 13 July 2026 Denny Jong — began making derogatory comments around the office, fostering a culture of permissiveness that allowed similar remarks to go unchecked. — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026 Kalshi’s new product tests the limits of the CFTC’s permissiveness while the agency actively defends its ability to oversee prediction markets in court. — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 9 July 2026 Biden surpassed Ronald Reagan in permissiveness for refugees’ suffering. — Chicago Tribune, 13 May 2026 Leaders should keep in mind that generosity is not the same thing as permissiveness—generosity needs structure. — Cherian Koshy, Forbes.com, 20 Feb. 2026 Some of this unprecedented editorial permissiveness can be attributed to the disappearance of a stable moral consensus to bind the ruling class to its subjects, who have come to develop the conviction that the Establishment has nothing good to say for itself. — Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026 The suggestion, in other words, is that the chatbot should err on the side of permissiveness in response to user prompts for erotic material. — Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026 What then to make of Netflix’s permissiveness toward the theatrical experience this awards season? — Chris Lee, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for permissiveness
  1. licentiousness
  2. excessiveness
  3. wildness
  4. indulgence
  5. intemperance
  6. excess
  7. casualness
Noun
  • This kind of depravity, licentiousness and polemical theatrics has no place on such a traditional and once wholesome presentation of the coming of a new year in our great nation and especially on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the greatest experiment in democracy and freedom in history.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
  • This kind of depravity, licentiousness and polemical theatrics has no place on such a traditional and once-wholesome presentation of the coming of a new year, especially on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the greatest experiment in democracy and freedom in history.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 3 Jan. 2026
Definition of licentiousness
Noun
  • This excessiveness can hinder critical knowledge building because of the sheer amount of information that can be accessed simultaneously at any time.
    — Carmen Daniela Maier, Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May 2026
Definition of excessiveness
Noun
  • Until, that is, the play’s rather retrograde climax, when the playwright’s provocateur wildness goes limp.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026
  • Instead, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema’s lens emphasizes the wildness of the landscape in a way that suggests how tentative civilization’s hold on this place is.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 July 2026
Definition of wildness
Noun
  • The post-pandemic YOLO spending binges have given way to micro-indulgences.
    — Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 25 July 2026
  • With an abundance of genre-crossing indulgences that are scary, surreal, and sometimes silly, the Paramount+ hit is operating at full warp speed in this penultimate outing, the debut episode of which just premiered on July 23, 2026.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 24 July 2026
Definition of indulgence
Noun
  • Rather, the term has come to stand for a range of attributes—intemperance, ordinariness, outsiderness, likability, spontaneity—that aren’t especially related philosophically, either to authenticity or to one another.
    — Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 5 June 2026
  • The power to issue absolute pardons, explicitly stipulated in the founding document, has been exploited with bipartisan intemperance.
    — Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Definition of intemperance
Noun
  • And crypto, for all its volatility and excess, happens to be one of the only industries that spent the last decade obsessively building internet-native money.
    — Markus Levin, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • Visually, Hornbill avoids the excess that often defines heavy-duty folders.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 21 July 2026
Definition of excess
Noun
  • Now my mother and I sometimes talk about Hương; never directly, but with a casualness that, too, seems like a gift.
    — Thao Thai, PEOPLE, 25 July 2026
  • Some of those losses stemmed from carelessness, with his supreme confidence occasionally straying into casualness.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 22 July 2026
Definition of casualness

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permissive
permissiveness
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Cite this Entry

“Permissiveness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/permissiveness. Accessed 28 Jul. 2026.

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