permissiveness

American  

[per-mis-iv-nis] / pərˈmɪs ɪv nɪs /

noun

1. the quality or condition of being accepting or tolerant of something, such as social behavior or linguistic usage, that others might disapprove of or forbid.

   Polls show an uptick in both social permissiveness and skepticism of government intervention.

   Essays must adhere to the rules, principles, and formatting required for formal writing and should be free of the grammatical permissiveness that can be used in informal writing.

---

Other Word Forms

• nonpermissiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of permissiveness

permissive ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Explanation

Permissiveness is a kind of freedom. Your family's permissiveness might mean that you don't have chores, a specific bedtime, or a curfew — unlike your friends with strict parents. Sometimes people use this word to imply that there's too much lenience; they might talk about the permissiveness of schools nowadays, allowing students to use their phones in class or call teachers by their first names. When norms and rules change in a society, this often results in more permissiveness. It was once considered unseemly for women to wear pants, and changing fashions were seen as permissiveness. The Latin root, permittere, means "to let go or let loose."

Example Sentences

Yet cogent objections to post-’60s permissiveness crop up with some regularity, if you’re looking for them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

In recent days, housing industry lobbyists have internally noted the seeming permissiveness of that exemption and others as potential tools for defanging the investor ban, said people familiar with the matter.

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026

Without an investment in the therapeutic parts of the criminal legal system, we seem to be inclined toward one of two extremes — permissiveness or punitiveness.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 2, 2023

The State Department’s top deputy on Latin America complained that Kissinger’s permissiveness was “patently a violation of our principles and policy tenets.”

From Slate • May 27, 2023

Officers critiqued the permissiveness they perceived in each other more than any other quality.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

Related Words

• extravagance
• kindness
• leniency
• privilege