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permit

[per-mit, pur-mit, per-mit] / pərˈmɪt, ˈpɜr mɪt, pərˈmɪt /




Usage

What are other ways to say permit?

Both verbs that imply granting or conceding the right of someone to do something, permit and allow are often interchangeable, but permit is the more positive of the two. Permit suggests formal or implied assent or authorization. Allow implies complete absence of an attempt, or even an intent, to hinder. Let is the familiar, conversational term for both allow and permit.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The Coastal Commission — which has been inundated in recent weeks with media questions and emergency permit requests amid record-breaking flooding from El Niño and tropical storms — is reviewing the draft findings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

"We are the first to try it, the first to get a theatrical release permit, and the first to be tested by the audience," he told Chinese film industry outlet Yuli.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

Action said a decision by the Thompkinses not to permit the company to share the boy’s medical details called into question the reliability of the family’s account.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Without the permit, journeys will become "troublesome to say the least", he says, and he has not been told what specific evidence to provide to complete his application.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

“I got my work permit today,” she said softly.

From "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Since then only a small fraction have had their permits restored.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

To date, 233 new homes have been completed, 3,851 building permits have been issued and 2,396 residences are under construction.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

Munoz highlights the need to streamline mining permits, attract investment and improve infrastructure, especially in energy, logistics and water, which the industry requires.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

The total value of building permits rose 8.8% from the month before to a seasonally adjusted 13.57 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of $9.55 billion, Statistics Canada said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Everybody could remember those days when, even though they had lost much communal land, they had still been allowed permits to run cattle and sheep and goats galore in the National Forest.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

The following month the city designated data centers as permitted “by right” within the industrial zone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

This demonstrated that the surrounding environment was sufficiently quiet and stable to preserve the molecules' quantum coherence for the maximum physically permitted duration.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

The 28 defendants are lawful permanent residents with legal status in the country but are not citizens permitted to vote.

From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026

A new deal with the drivers' union also helped - something an insider at the former private sector operator claimed to me their company had not been permitted to do.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Missouri will join the Union as the twenty-fourth state with slavery permitted in 1821.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

He said tackling permitting times and red tape involved in building would have a greater impact.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

The judge, Lord Ericht, said the developers should have provided a more detailed account of the fields' impact on climate change as part of the permitting process.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

Clear skies permitting, skygazers could be able to spot as many as 10-20 meteors per hour.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

This is a major departure from the historic standard of net realized gains — thus, permitting managers to pocket performance fees on temporary highs that may vanish the next year.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

I couldn’t exactly imagine Mrs. Ackermann permitting her daughter to crawl out the window in the middle of the night.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros


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