prescriptive

English

Alternative forms

• præscriptive
• praescriptive

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈskɹɪptɪv/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪptɪv
• Hyphenation: pre‧scrip‧tive

Adjective

prescriptive (comparative more prescriptive, superlative most prescriptive)

1. Of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard.

   Synonym: normative

   Antonyms: (especially of grammar and usage) descriptive, proscriptive, nonprescriptive

   • 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational Grammar, Cambridge: University Press, →ISBN, page 8:

     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). [...]

Derived terms

• prescriptively
• prescriptiveness
• prescriptivism
• prescriptivist
• prescriptivity
• prescriptive ethics

Related terms

• prescribe
• prescription

Translations

of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard

• Bulgarian: нормативен (normativen)
• Faroese: hevdvunnin, siðbundin
• German: normgebunden, durch Vorgaben diktiert, vorschreibend (de), durch Vorschriften (postpositioned), durch Vorgaben (postpositioned)
• Japanese: 規範的な (kihanteki na)
• Polish: preskryptywny (pl), dyrektywalny (pl)
• Romanian: prescriptiv m or n
• Russian: предпи́сывающий (ru) (predpísyvajuščij), нормати́вный (ru) (normatívnyj)
• Swedish: preskriptiv (sv)

French

Adjective

prescriptive

1. feminine singular of prescriptif

Romanian

Adjective

prescriptive

1. inflection of prescriptiv:
   1. feminine genitive/dative singular
   2. feminine/neuter plural