laissez-faire, laisser-faire

The spellings laissez-faire and laisser-faire (British) are both hyphenated, whether the expression is used as an adjective or as a noun. Laissez-faire and laisser-faire no longer require italics in English.

  • School administrators are reconsidering their laissez-faire (relaxed) attitude to students’ clothing choices.
  • Laissez-faire is an economic policy that calls for government to intervene as little as possible in the economy.

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