laissez-faire
noun
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The French phrase laissez faire literally means “allow to do,” with the idea being “let people do as they choose.” The origins of laissez-faire are associated with the Physiocrats, a group of 18th-century French economists who believed that government policy should not interfere with the operation of natural economic laws. (The actual coiner of the phrase may have been French economist Vincent de Gournay, or it may have been François Quesnay, who is considered the group’s founder and leader.) The original phrase was “laissez faire, laissez passer,” with the second part meaning “let (things) pass.” Laissez-faire, which first showed up in an English context in the first half of the 19th century, can still mean “a doctrine opposing governmental interference in economic affairs,” but it is also used in broader contexts in which a “hands-off” or “anything-goes” policy or attitude is adopted. It is frequently used as an adjective meaning “favoring a ‘hands-off’ policy,” as in “laissez-faire economics.”
Examples of laissez-faire in a Sentence
Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 10 June 2024
Anna North looks across the Atlantic and at the longtime phenomenon of American moms seeing their French counterparts as idyllic examples of parental laissez-faire and whether that’s a model to make parenting less stressful.
—Vox Staff, Vox, 4 June 2024
Duff said policymakers cannot afford to take the same laissez-faire approach with AI.
—Alison Cross, Hartford Courant, 23 Apr. 2024
Children are catered for in a laissez-faire way, with a playground and zip wire, tennis court floating on a lake and a beamed attic filled with games.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Dec. 2023
The strategy marks a departure from the national party's more laissez-faire approach in 2022 when divisive and scandalized candidates were able to clinch the GOP nomination and then lose competitive Senate races like those in Georgia and Pennsylvania.
—Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2024
The brand Vacation built an entire product line on the laissez-faire resort-goer aesthetic of decades past, though their oils and browning lotions are always infused with SPF 30 — a nod to our modern attitude about UV protection.
—Kara Nesvig, Allure, 21 Mar. 2024
Australia’s laissez-faire automobile attitude puts it in ignoble company.
—Michael E. Miller, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024
The company also had a laissez-faire attitude to moderating speech on the site, which sometimes landed it in hot water.
—Mike Isaac, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'laissez-faire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Laissez-faire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laissez-faire. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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