Meaning & use
permissible
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparableformal
Allowed by law, rules, or accepted standards.
Grammar: Not usually used with 'very' or in the comparative; it describes a state of being allowed or not allowed.
Patterns
- permissible under something
- permissible for someone
- it is permissible to do something
Smoking is not permissible in any part of the building.
Is it permissible to take photographs here?
The court decided that the evidence was permissible.
Common combinations
- permissible under the law
- Such actions are permissible under the law.
- permissible level
- The factory must keep emissions below the permissible level.
- permissible for
- This behavior is not permissible for employees.
- legally permissible
- The protest was legally permissible.
Synonyms and how they differ
- allowed
- Allowed is the everyday word; permissible is more formal and often used in rules or legal contexts.
- acceptable
- Acceptable means satisfactory or tolerable, while permissible means specifically not forbidden by rules.
- admissible
- Admissible is used mainly in legal contexts for evidence that can be considered in court; permissible is broader.
Opposites
Word family
- permission noun
- The act of allowing someone to do something.
- permit verb
- To allow something to happen.
- permissive adjective
- Allowing a lot of freedom, often more than is usual.
Commonly confused: permissible or permissive?
permissible vs permissive
Permissive describes someone or something that allows a lot of freedom, while permissible means allowed by rules.
Practice
The use of mobile phones is not _____ during the exam.
Choose one answer.
Permissible means allowed by rules, which fits the context of an exam. Permissive means allowing freedom, permission is a noun, and permit is a verb or noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “permissible”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.