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.

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Other Word Forms

• nonpermissiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of permissiveness

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

Example Sentences

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

Or is the era of permissiveness at an end for routine balloon-borne research?

From Scientific American • Feb. 23, 2023

General Peckem’s attitude toward all the personnel in his command, officers and enlisted men, was marked by the same easy spirit of tolerance and permissiveness.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Related Words

• extravagance
• kindness
• leniency
• privilege