Permissive — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

not preventive

granting or inclined or able to grant permission; not strict in discipline

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pɚmˈɪsɪv/

🇬🇧British English

/pəmˈɪsɪv/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pəmˈɪsɪv/

3 syllables Say it as /pɚmˈɪsɪv/.

Examples

direct primary legislation is largely permissive rather than prescriptive
permissive parents

Synonyms & Antonyms

Antonyms

preventive unpermissive

Parts of Speech

adjective	not preventive
adjective	granting or inclined or able to grant permission; not strict in discipline “direct primary legislation is largely permissive rather than prescriptive”

Word Forms

permissiveness	noun	a disposition to allow freedom of choice and behavior
permit	verb	allow the presence of or allow (an activity) without opposing or prohibiting

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

freizügig

nicht präventiv

🇫🇷French

permissif

pas préventif

🇪🇸Spanish

permisivo

no preventivo

🇮🇹Italian

permissivo

non preventivo

🇳🇱Dutch

tolerant

niet preventief

🇵🇹Portuguese

permissivo

não preventivo

🇷🇺Russian

вседозволительный

не профилактический

India

🇮🇳Hindi

अनुमोदक

निवारक नहीं

🇧🇩Bengali

অনুমতিমূলক

প্রতিরোধমূলক নয়

🇮🇳Tamil

அனுமதிக்கப்பட்ட

தடுப்பு அல்ல

🇮🇳Telugu

అనుమతించదగినది

నివారణ కాదు

🇮🇳Marathi

परवानगी देणारा

प्रतिबंधात्मक नाही

🇮🇳Gujarati

પરવાનગી આપનારું

નિવારક નથી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಅನುಮತಿ

ತಡೆಗಟ್ಟುವ ಅಲ್ಲ

🇮🇳Malayalam

അനുവദനീയമായ

പ്രതിരോധമല്ല

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਆਗਿਆਕਾਰੀ

ਰੋਕਥਾਮ ਨਹੀਂ

🇵🇰Urdu

اجازت دینے والا

روک تھام نہیں

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

宽容的

不是预防性的

🇯🇵Japanese

寛容な

予防的ではない

🇰🇷Korean

허용적인

예방적이지 않음

🇻🇳Vietnamese

dễ dãi

không phòng ngừa

🇹🇭Thai

อนุญาต

ไม่ใช่การป้องกัน

🇮🇩Indonesian

permisif

bukan preventif

🇲🇾Malay

permisif

bukan pencegahan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

متساهل

ليست وقائية

🇮🇷Persian

سهل گیر

پیشگیرانه نیست

🇹🇷Turkish

hoşgörülü

önleyici değil

🇮🇱Hebrew

מַתִיר

לא מונע

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'permissive'?

The primary meaning of 'permissive' is 'not preventive'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'permissive' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'permissive' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'permissive' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'permissive' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'permissive' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'permissive' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'permissive' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'permissive' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'permissive' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'permissive' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted