impermissible
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of impermissible
First recorded in 1855–60; im- 2 + permissible
Explanation
Something impermissible isn't allowed. It's impermissible in every part of the U.S. to drive 100 miles an hour on the highway. Things that are permissible are legal, authorized, or welcome — you are permitted to do them. The opposite of permissible is impermissible, which adds the "opposite" prefix im- to permissible, from the Latin permittere, "let, allow, grant, or permit." It's impermissible to bully other kids at school, or against the rules, and it's impermissible to steal a car, or against the law.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This was related to separate charges involving impermissible contact to register academy players between 2019 and 2022.
From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026
Multiple courts noted the government’s repeated assurances throughout this litigation, and several opinions flagged that reversing course would be impermissible.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026
That is just flat-out impermissible under the law as it stood on Thursday.
From Slate • Dec. 5, 2025
Judge Cobb ruled that these twin deficiencies “exhibit signs of impermissible vagueness. Taken together, they cross the line into unconstitutionality.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025
He was given a mandatory death-in-prison sentence after his jury was illegally told that he had to prove his innocence beyond a reasonable doubt and the State introduced impermissible evidence.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
