4 syllables: per, mis, si, ble. Stress on mis.
/pɚˈmɪsəbəl/
Say it backPermissible means allowed or permitted by law, rules, or standards. It denotes something that can be done within established boundaries and is not prohibited. The term is often used in formal, legal, or academic contexts to describe what is acceptable or authorized.
"The use of drones is permissible under the city’s current regulations."
"Her behavior was permissible within the school's code of conduct."
"The fee is permissible only for guests staying overnight."
Say per-MIS-si-ble with primary stress on MIS. IPA US: pərˈmɪsəbl; UK: pəˈmɪsəbl; AU: pəˈmɪsəbl. Start with a schwa on the first syllable, deliver a clear, stressed /ˈmɪ/ in the second syllable, then a light /sə/ and a reduced final /bl/. Practice slowly, then speed up while keeping the /s/ crisp and the final -ble soft.
Common errors: over-emphasizing the second syllable and misplacing the stress, pronouncing as per-MIS-uh-bəl with an extra vowel, or slurring the final -ble into -bul. Corrections: keep primary stress on MIS, use a short, unstressed first syllable pər-, ensure /ˈmɪs/ is distinct, and finish with a light /əbl/ rather than a hard -bul.
US tends to relaxed final consonants and a fuller /ɪ/ in MIS; UK often a crisper /ˈmɪsəbl/ with less rhotic influence in connected speech; AU tends to a compact, flatter vowel quality in MIS and a softly reduced final /bl/. The main distinction is vowel quality in MIS and the final cluster release, with rhoticity more prominent in US contexts.
Difficulties arise from the sequence /ˈmɪsə/ plus the /bl/ cluster at the end and the need to keep the first syllable unstressed while stressing the second. Learners often misplace the stress and blend /s/ with the following vowel. Focus on separating MIS from si- and keeping a light, non-emphasized final -ble.
One unique aspect is maintaining a distinct secondary schwa in the third position; many speakers run the /ə/ quickly, which can blur into the following /bl/. Emphasize a clear /sə/ before the /bl/ to avoid a sloppy ending and to keep the word audibly precise.
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US: rhoticity is common in connected speech; ensure /r/ is not inserted after p initial. UK: non-rhotic; avoid trailing r. AU: tends to even more flattened vowels; keep MIS crisp with a slightly shorter vowel. Vowel differences: /ɪ/ in MIS is tense; ensure it’s not a lax /ɪ/. The final -ble has a reduced vowel; keep /ə/ before /bl/ rather than a full /əɪ/.
The word permissible comes from the Old French permissible, formed from the stem permit- meaning ‘to allow, to let’ plus the suffix -ible, indicating ‘able to be’. The Latin root is permittere, meaning ‘to let go, to allow’. In Middle English, the form varied before stabilizing as permissible in the 16th century, aligning with other -ible adjectives of possibility and acceptability. The diachronic arc tracks a shift from a broader sense of ‘allowable’ to a more specific legal/criteria-based sense in modern English. First attested in print around the early modern period, permissible has retained its core sense of lawful or acceptable authorization, often in regulatory or formal discourse.
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Help others use "permissible" correctly by contributing grammar tips, common mistakes, and context guidance.
💡 These words have similar meanings to "permissible" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "permissible" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "permissible"
-ble sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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