prescriptive

American  

[pri-skrip-tiv] / prɪˈskrɪp tɪv /

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.

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prescriptive British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• nonprescriptive adjective
• prescriptively adverb
• prescriptiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of prescriptive

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

Explanation

Prescriptive things have to do with giving rules or directions. Prescriptive advice tells you what to do. When the doctor writes a prescription, he or she is telling you to get a particular drug and take it. Similarly, anything prescriptive involves telling people what to do. People are prescriptive when they're sure of what’s right. "You have several options" is not prescriptive, but "You should do this" is very prescriptive. A bossy person is very prescriptive.

Example Sentences

The process is prescriptive, but the effect is liberating.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2026

Besides KSE's annual team summit, the cross-sport connections are more organic than prescriptive.

From BBC • Nov. 12, 2025

Coming from another breed of mom, this would be a prelude to prescriptive punishment.

From Salon • Oct. 16, 2025

Mr. Mokyr argues that two factors were responsible for the 19th-century Industrial Revolution that kicked off growth: prescriptive knowledge and propositional knowledge.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 13, 2025

Once you understand that prescriptive rules are the conventions of a specialized form of the language, most of the iptivist controversies evaporate.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker