permissive: Meaning and Definition of

per•mis•sive

1. habitually or characteristically accepting or tolerant of something, as social behavior or linguistic usage, that others might disapprove or forbid.
2. granting or denoting permission: a permissive nod.
3. optional.
4. (of a cell) permitting replication of a strand of DNA that could be lethal, as a viral segment or mutant gene.