Dictionary

prescriptive en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /pɹəˈskɹɪptɪv/
• (US) audio Maryland
• /pɹiˈskɹɪptɪv/

Etymology

From Latin praescriptivus (“relating to a legal exception”), from praescript- (“directed in writing”), from the verb praescribere.

Meanings

1. Of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard.
   • For one thing, spoken language tends to be less subjected to prescriptive pressures than written language, and hence is a less artificial medium of com- munication (written language is often a kind of 'censored' version of spoken language). [...] 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational Grammar, Cambridge: University Press, →ISBN, page 8:

Forms

Antonyms

proscriptive · nonprescriptive · descriptive

Deriveds

prescriptive ethics · prescriptiveness · prescriptive grammar · unprescriptive · prescriptivistic · prescriptivist · prescriptivism · prescriptivity · prescriptively

Relateds

prescription · prescribe

Synonyms

normative

Translations (17)

ca prescriptiu (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · pl preskryptywny (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · ja 規範的な (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · fr normatif (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · de vorschreibend (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · fo siðbundin (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · de normgebunden (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · sv preskriptiv (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · bg нормативен (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · mn журамласан (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · de durch Vorgaben diktiert (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · ro prescriptiv (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · ru нормати́вный (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · pl dyrektywalny (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · es prescriptivo (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · fo hevdvunnin (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard) · ru предпи́сывающий (of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard)