prescriptive

[ pri-skrip-tiv ]

adjective

1. that prescribes; giving directions or injunctions:

   a prescriptive letter from an anxious father.

2. depending on or arising from effective legal prescription, as a right or title established by a long unchallenged tenure.

prescriptive

/ prɪˈskrɪptɪv /

adjective

1. making or giving directions, rules, or injunctions
2. sanctioned by long-standing usage or custom
3. derived from or based upon legal prescription

   a prescriptive title

Derived Forms

• preˈscriptiveness, noun
• preˈscriptively, adverb

Other Words From

• pre·scrip·tive·ly adverb
• pre·scrip·tive·ness noun
• non·pre·scrip·tive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prescriptive¹

First recorded in 1740–50; prescript + -ive, modeled on descriptive, destructive, etc.

Example Sentences

Personal finance advice is prescriptive.

From Salon

In the 2002 letter, the then Prince of Wales said to a senior UK government minister that “more prescriptive laws” were creating “increasing difficulty in many walks of life”.

From BBC

You describe how you finally lost weight yet seem wary of being prescriptive.

From Los Angeles Times

Those depictions weren’t always positive, and locals still face discrimination and prescriptive gender roles.

From Los Angeles Times

The findings suggest there should be less effort put into teaching prescriptive, "one-word-fits-all" principles, and more focus on how to be sensitive to the particulars of a situation.

From Science Daily