The meaning of PERMISSIVE is granted on sufferance : tolerated. How to use permissive in a sentence.

PERMISSIVE definition: habitually or characteristically accepting or tolerant of something, as social behavior or linguistic usage, that others might disapprove or forbid. See examples of …

PERMISSIVE meaning: 1. A person or society that is permissive allows behaviour that other people might disapprove of…. Learn more.

A permissive person, society, or way of behaving allows or tolerates things which other people disapprove of. ...the permissive tolerance of the 1960s.

1. tolerant; lenient: permissive parents. 2. indulgent in matters of sex: a permissive society.

Definition of permissive adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

There are nine meanings listed in OED's entry for the word permissive, one of which is considered derogatory. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

A permissive coach will cut players slack during practices and games. Laws can be permissive too — about drugs, guns, and other things that could be tightly controlled. A permissive society …

too willing to allow or permit something, as social behavior, that others might disapprove of or forbid: permissive parents who allowed her to stay up late. giving, expressing, or showing …

PERMISSIVE meaning: giving people a lot of freedom or too much freedom to do what they want to do