How to use permissive in a sentence

10 example sentences · adjective, noun

Permissive means giving permission, or predisposed to give it; lenient. Example: “"Permissive" working allows more than one train to be in a block section at one time but trains must be run at low speed in order to stop on sight behind the train in front.”

Examples of permissive by meaning

adjectiveGiving permission, or predisposed to give it; lenient.

"Permissive" working allows more than one train to be in a block section at one time but trains must be run at low speed in order to stop on sight behind the train in front.1962 October, “Talking of Trains: The collisions at Connington”, in Modern Railways, page 232
Some parents were too strict, some parents were too permissive and some parents were just right — and I saw no connection between parenting style and parental politics.2026 March 4, Leonard Sax, “Permissive parents skew left, strict ones right — US parenting has become political like never before”, in New...

adjectiveOpen to the public by permission of the landowner.

Many permissive paths work well and have done for a significant amount of time, enhancing or connecting our network of public footpaths, byways and bridleways, however unevenly distributed.2026 February 7, Leonie Helm, “"I’ve always loved a ‘permissive path’ – it’s always seemed like the nicest of invitations."”, in Countryfile

More sentences with permissive

Among the best-known permissive licenses are the copyfree licenses.2016, Giuseppe Di Cataldo, Stack Frames, Apress, →ISBN, page 14. From the entry copyfree
For example, to cross a temperature-sensitive mutation with an amber mutation, amber suppressor cells are infected at the low (permissive) temperature.2007, Molecular Genetics of Bacteria, edition 3, page 333. From the entry amber
Hoping that a more permissive gov't stance on gay issues will lead to more freedoms for you in matters of incest?2005 Obwan, Re: Tell your kids to bend over and spread their cheeks! Group: or.politics. From the entry incestophile
A great deal of China's crypto community has relocated to Dalifornia, drawn as much by the beautiful natural setting as the permissive environment.2025, Dan Wang, Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future, Random House, →ISBN. From the entry Dalifornia
Engines with heavy snow ploughs are ordered to raise steam to a state of readiness, and freight trains may be cancelled or permissive loadings halved.1960 January, M. Harbottle, “Maintaining Services after Heavy Snowfalls”, in Railway Magazine, page 10. From the entry tractive
A PNG bridge provides a permissive, directional substrate to encourage and guide long-distance regeneration, and resident Schwann cells provide trophic support and can remyelinate the axons.2015 October 2, “Peripheral Nerve Transplantation Combined with Acidic Fibroblast Growth Factor and Chondroitinase Induces Regeneration…. From the entry remyelinate
In this traditional context, it's easy to assume that anything short of an ironhanded, authoritarian attitude toward discipline is flat-out permissive, although this common belief is not remotely true.2014, Jane Bluestein, Managing 21st Century Classrooms: How do I avoid ineffective classroom management practices?, →ISBN, page 3. From the entry ironhanded

Meaning of permissive

adjective Giving permission, or predisposed to give it; lenient.
adjective Open to the public by permission of the landowner.
adjective That allows the replication of viruses.

Full definition of permissive

Questions about permissive in a sentence

How do you use permissive in a sentence?: Permissive is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “"Permissive" working allows more than one train to be in a block section at one time but trains must be run at low speed in order to stop on sight behind the train in front.”
What is a short sentence with permissive?: “Among the best-known permissive licenses are the copyfree licenses.”
What does permissive mean?: Permissive means giving permission, or predisposed to give it; lenient.

Adapted from Wiktionary: permissive (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use permissive in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/permissive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.