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

Synonyms of prescriptive

• traditional
• customary
• conventional

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

The strongest properties employ skilled, adaptive practitioners who adjust to the guest in front of them rather than march through a rigid itinerary — wellness, the experts argue, should feel intuitive rather than prescriptive. —Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 23 May 2026

Wellness should feel intuitive, not prescriptive. —Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 23 May 2026

Manufacturers follow highly detailed, prescriptive safety standards set by industry experts and the rides go through rigorous testing before guests set foot on them. —Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 13 May 2026

Flynn is a poet by trade and this memoir is neither linear nor prescriptive. —Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for prescriptive

• ascriptive
• descriptive

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