descriptive

English

Etymology

From Latin dēscriptīvus ‎(“containing a full description”)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/

Adjective

descriptive ‎(comparative more descriptive, superlative most descriptive)

1. Of or relating to description.
2. (grammar) Of an adjective, stating an attribute of the associated noun (as heavy in the heavy dictionary).
3. (linguistics)   Describing the structure, grammar, vocabulary and actual use of a language.
4. (sciences, philosophy) Describing and seeking to classify, as opposed to normative or prescriptive.
   • 2012 March-April, John T. Jost, “Social Justice: Is It in Our Nature (and Our Future)?”, in American Scientist^[1], volume 100, number 2, page 162:

     He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record.

Antonyms

• (science): prescriptive, normative, non-descriptive

Hyponyms

• self-descriptive

Derived terms

• descriptively
• descriptiveness

Related terms

Related terms

• describe
• descriptive ethics

• descriptive geometry

• descriptive statistics

Translations

of, or relating to description

• Belarusian: апіса́льны m ‎(apisálʹny)
• Bulgarian: описателен (bg) ‎(opisatelen), нагледен (bg) ‎(nagleden)
• Czech: popisný (cs) m
• Finnish: kuvaileva (fi), esittelevä (fi), toteava (fi), deskriptiivinen (fi)
• Japanese: 説明する ‎(せつめいする, setsumei suru)
• Ladino: deskriptivo

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: beskrivende (no)

• Portuguese: descritivo (pt)
• Romanian: descriptiv (ro) m, n
• Russian: описа́тельный (ru) ‎(opisátelʹnyj), нагля́дный (ru) ‎(nagljádnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: dȅskriptīvan (sh)
• Swedish: beskrivande (sv)

stating an attribute to associated noun

• Finnish: kuvaileva (fi), deskriptiivinen (fi)
• Japanese: 限定用法の ‎(げんていようほうの, gentei yōhō no)

• Ladino: deskriptivo
• Russian: описа́тельный (ru) ‎(opisátelʹnyj)

describing a language

• Bulgarian: описателен (bg) ‎(opisatelen)
• Finnish: kuvaileva (fi), deskriptiivinen (fi)
• German: deskriptiv (de)
• Japanese: 記述的な ‎(きじゅつてきな, kijutsuteki na)

• Ladino: deskriptivo
• Romanian: descriptiv (ro) m, n
• Russian: описа́тельный (ru) ‎(opisátelʹnyj)
• Swedish: deskriptiv (sv)

describing and seeking to classify

• Finnish: kuvaileva (fi), deskriptiivinen (fi)

• Serbo-Croatian: dȅskriptīvan (sh)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} descrittivo

Noun

descriptive ‎(plural descriptives)

1. (grammar) An adjective (or other descriptive word)

See also

• Description on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Linguistic prescription on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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French

Adjective

descriptive

1. feminine singular of descriptif