prescriptive
adjective
pre·scrip·tive
pri-ˈskrip-tiv 
1
: serving to prescribe
prescriptive rules of usage
2
: acquired by, founded on, or determined by prescription or by long-standing custom
prescriptively
adverb
Examples of prescriptive in a Sentence
Critics claim the new rules are too prescriptive.
even in this age of e-mail the prescriptive response to a wedding gift is a handwritten thank-you note
Recent Examples on the Web
That 1950 report, prescriptive in nature, lamented a lack of party discipline and advocated for parties that were more ideologically homogenous, resistant to pressure from outside groups and whose members were more loyal than they were perceived to be at the time.
—
Dan Balz, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Sep. 2023
Some 7-year-olds can be bossy and prescriptive, telling their parents everything, and some 7-year-olds don’t hesitate to join in on the fun.
—Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2023
Meanwhile, thanks to international accounting standards, investors interested in multinational companies will have access to more prescriptive human capital metrics regardless of what the SEC, US courts, or future presidents decide.
—Sheri Rothman, Quartz, 8 May 2023
Related The phenomenon extends beyond Tinder to prescriptive notions of courtship laid out on Twitter as if the final word on a subject.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 19 July 2023
Editing is inherently prescriptive, because the editor is trying to make things correct.
—John McIntyre, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 June 2023
Abbott, who campaigned on using a huge state revenue surplus to cut property taxes, immediately called the Legislature back into a special session with orders to pass a prescriptive tax cut that would use $17.6 billion solely to buy down school district property taxes.
—Philip Jankowski, Dallas News, 15 June 2023
Diet guides and manuals for manifesting a better life via positive thinking are best left on the shelf; the following books are challenging where others are pandering, open-minded where others are prescriptive.
—Eleanor Cummins, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2023
The end result is overly prescriptive training that doesn’t eliminate discrimination and exclusion.
—Mohammad Anwar, Forbes, 5 May 2022
See More
Dan Balz, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Sep. 2023
Some 7-year-olds can be bossy and prescriptive, telling their parents everything, and some 7-year-olds don’t hesitate to join in on the fun.
—Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2023
Meanwhile, thanks to international accounting standards, investors interested in multinational companies will have access to more prescriptive human capital metrics regardless of what the SEC, US courts, or future presidents decide.
—Sheri Rothman, Quartz, 8 May 2023
Related The phenomenon extends beyond Tinder to prescriptive notions of courtship laid out on Twitter as if the final word on a subject.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 19 July 2023
Editing is inherently prescriptive, because the editor is trying to make things correct.
—John McIntyre, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 June 2023
Abbott, who campaigned on using a huge state revenue surplus to cut property taxes, immediately called the Legislature back into a special session with orders to pass a prescriptive tax cut that would use $17.6 billion solely to buy down school district property taxes.
—Philip Jankowski, Dallas News, 15 June 2023
Diet guides and manuals for manifesting a better life via positive thinking are best left on the shelf; the following books are challenging where others are pandering, open-minded where others are prescriptive.
—Eleanor Cummins, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2023
The end result is overly prescriptive training that doesn’t eliminate discrimination and exclusion.
—Mohammad Anwar, Forbes, 5 May 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prescriptive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1663, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Articles Related to prescriptive
Dictionary Entries Near prescriptive
Cite this Entry
“Prescriptive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prescriptive. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
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Legal Definition
prescriptive
adjective
pre·scrip·tive
pri-ˈskrip-tiv
1
: serving to prescribe
prescriptive rules
2
: acquired by, founded on, or constituting prescription
a prescriptive right
a longer prescriptive period
More from Merriam-Webster on prescriptive
Britannica English: Translation of prescriptive for Arabic Speakers
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