laissez faire
Syllables: lais·sez faireUK/ˈlæseɪ ˌfɛə(ɹ)//ˌlɛ(ˌ)seɪ ˈfɛəɹ/
laissez faire noun: a policy of governmental non-interference in economic affairs.
Noun
laissez faire (uncountable)
- A policy of governmental non-interference in economic affairs.
- In brief, all this Mammon-Gospel of Supply-and-demand, Competition, Laissez-faire, and Devil take the hindmost, begins to be one of the shabbiest Gospels ever preached on Earth; or altogether the shabbiest.1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, chapter 9, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book I (Proem), page 106
- While laissez-faire economy was the product of deliberate State action, subsequent restrictions on laissez-faire started in a spontaneous way. Laissez-faire was planned; planning was not.2001 [1944], Karl Polanyi, “12. Birth of the Liberal Creed”, in The Great Transformation
- A policy of non-interference by authority in any competitive process.
Adjective
laissez faire (comparative more laissez faire, superlative most laissez faire)
- Practicing or representing governmental noninterference, or minimal interference, especially in economic affairs; pertaining to free-market capitalism.
- I think the city should take a laissez faire approach to this; getting involved would only make things worse.
- Advocating such noninterference.
- The Senator claims to be laissez faire, but he voted in favor of the subsidies.
- While laissez-faire economy was the product of deliberate State action, subsequent restrictions on laissez-faire started in a spontaneous way. Laissez-faire was planned; planning was not.2001 [1944], Karl Polanyi, “12. Birth of the Liberal Creed”, in The Great Transformation
- Resulting from such noninterference.
- The price ceiling was well below the laissez faire price that demand would have supported, so there were always shortages.
- Avoiding interference in other people's affairs; choosing to live and let live.
- Synonyms:
- forbearing, hands off, indulgent, avuncular, broad-minded, catholic, latitudinarian, lenient, liberal, open-handed
laissez faire meaning in Kannada, Malay, Indonesian and Vietnamese
laissez faire in Kannada
- ತಾಟಸ್ಥ್ಯ ನೀತಿ
laissez faire in Malay
- economics: a policy of governmental non-interference in economic affairs
- laissez-faire
laissez faire in Indonesian
- economics: a policy of governmental non-interference in economic affairs
- laissez faire
laissez faire in Vietnamese
- economics: a policy of governmental non-interference in economic affairs
- tự do phóng nhiệm
Synonyms of laissez faire
- forbearing
- hands off
- indulgent
- avuncular
- broad-minded
- catholic
- latitudinarian
- lenient
- liberal
- open-handed
5 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of laissez faire
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| alternative form | laissez-faire |
| alternative form | laisser faire |
| alternative form | laisser-faire |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more laissez faire |
| superlative | most laissez faire |
Origin of laissez faire
Borrowed from French laissez faire (“leave it be”, literally “let do”).
Words that rhyme with laissez faire
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- declare
- hair
- Sinclair
- where
- ayr
- care
- layer
- mayor
- parterre
- fare
- glare
- lair
- pear
- prayer
- snare
- compare
- dare
- rare
- share
- swear
- ware
- wear and tear
- Ayer
- blare
- flair
- forbear
- Kerr
- mousquetaire
- pare
- prepare
- repair
- stare
- unfair
- yare
- -ware
- abear
- aflare
- despair
- glair
- heir
- impair
- Pierre
- reair
- scare
- tare
- trillionaire
- Voltaire
- aware
Questions about laissez faire
- What does laissez faire mean?
- Laissez faire means a policy of governmental non-interference in economic affairs.
- What is laissez faire in Kannada?
- Laissez faire in Kannada is ತಾಟಸ್ಥ್ಯ ನೀತಿ. See Laissez faire meaning in Kannada.
- What part of speech is laissez faire?
- Laissez faire can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce laissez faire?
- Laissez faire is pronounced /ˈlæseɪ ˌfɛə(ɹ)/ (UK).
Words near laissez faire in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: laissez faire (page history and authors); laissez faire (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-laissez faire.ogg, en-au-laissez faire.ogg.
Cite this entry: “laissez faire.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/laissez_faire. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.