laisser-aller

or lais·sez-al·ler

[ le-sey-a-ley ]

noun

, French.

1. unchecked freedom or ease; unrestraint; looseness.

Word History and Origins

Origin of laisser-aller¹

Literally, “to allow to go”

Example Sentences

Mars has equal power.—Laisser aller of the Female Performers.—Decline of Theatrical Taste among the Fashionable.

From Project Gutenberg

In a word, Mrs. Carnby knew to perfection how laisser aller and whom laisser venir—the which, all said and done, appear to be the qualities most admirable in an out-of-town hostess, by very reason, perhaps, of their being the least common.

From Project Gutenberg

But things had come to him so easily, so independent of any effort of his own, that he was become the chief of optimists, imbued with the serene and confident laisser aller of the clan; and, now that association was making her intimate with his methods of work, she found them to be wholly haphazard, inspired merely by the whim of the moment, unregulated by any remotest evidence of system.

From Project Gutenberg

Like every Anglaise she’s rather pinched and prim in public; but it’s easy to see that when no one’s looking elle ne demande qu’à se laisser aller! 

From Project Gutenberg

The net gain of this policy of laisser aller was that a large number of children, belonging to the classes on which depended the future prosperity of the country, were being carefully educated on solid Christian foundations, without, as far as I could observe at S. Bento and elsewhere, any sacrifice of the patriotic principles which Brazil quite rightly desired should be instilled into the rising generation of her sons and daughters.

From Project Gutenberg