permissive

adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"permissive" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“permissive” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,551. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,551
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Giving permission, or predisposed to give it; lenient.

Corpus desk

Index EN-permissive · permissive · English

permissive · rank #38,551 · 13 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,551
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH peloton

Nearest frequency peer: peloton (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “permissive”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “permissive” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

permissive vs permission
80% similar
permissive vs percussive
80% similar
permissive vs permissible
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for permissive
PropertyValue
Headwordpermissive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters10
Frequency rank#38,551
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “permissive”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).permissivelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “peloton” (#38,550), “phrased” (#38,552), “Peirce” (#38,549). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “permissive” is #38,551. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around permissive, anadjective. Corpus frequency is #38,551 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for permissive, with forms such as "eprmissive", "pemrissive", and "perimssive". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "permission", "percussive", "permissible", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French permissif. The correct English form is permissive, spelled P-E-R-M-I-S-S-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Giving permission, or predisposed to give it; lenient.
  2. 2
    Open to the public by permission of the landowner.
  3. 3
    That allows the replication of viruses.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how permissive appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "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. Such working is often authorised to allow freight trains to "bunch" together to await a path through a bottleneck instead of being strung out over several block sections, as would be…

Etymology

From French permissif.

This word in other languages

permisivo(Español)permissif(Français)permissivo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eprmissive
  • pemrissive
  • perimssive
  • permisisve
  • permisive
  • permissiev
  • permissivve
  • permissvie
  • permmissive
  • permsisive
  • perrmissive
  • ppermissive
  • premissive

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of permissive - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

eprmissive2pemrissive2perimssive2permisisve2permisive1permissiev2permissivve1permissvie2
Edit distance from "permissive"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "permissive"?
"permissive" is spelled P-E-R-M-I-S-S-I-V-E.
What does "permissive" mean?
As an adjective, "permissive" means: Giving permission, or predisposed to give it; lenient.
What words are commonly confused with "permissive"?
"permissive" is commonly confused with "permission", "percussive", "permissible". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "permissive"?
From French permissif. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "permissive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

painkiller#38,540rapporteur#38,574redeemable#38,579refraction#38,582

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

pushback13 variantsmightily13 variantsstipulate13 variantsswatches13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list