per·mis·sive
[per-mis-iv] Show IPA
adjective
1.
habitually or characteristically accepting or tolerant of something, as social behavior or linguisticusage, that others might disapprove or forbid.
2.
3.
4.
Genetics. (of a cell) permitting replication of a strand of DNA that could be lethal, as a viral segmentor mutant gene.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To permissive
00:06
Permissive is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
permissive (pəˈmɪsɪv) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| — adj | |
| 1. | tolerant; lenient: permissive parents |
| 2. | indulgent in matters of sex: a permissive society |
| 3. | granting permission |
| 4. | archaic not obligatory |
| per'missively | |
| — adv | |
| per'missiveness | |
| — n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
permissive
c.1600, "allowing to pass through," from O.Fr. permissif, from L. permissus (see permission). In sense of"tolerant, liberal" it is first recorded 1956; by 1966 it had definite overtones of sexual freedom.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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