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
With surgery, blood thinners, and other prescriptive measures, Nixon recovered and lived another two decades but succumbed to a stroke in 1994.
—
Barbara A. Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 May 2025
Lead with questions rather than prescriptive answers to foster critical thinking across teams.
—Vanina Marcote, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
In a clinical setting, bibliotherapy can be reactive or prescriptive.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 4 May 2025
To some extent, the powers of the new oversight bodies are limited by prescriptive language in the measures themselves.
—Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prescriptive
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Barbara A. Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 May 2025
Lead with questions rather than prescriptive answers to foster critical thinking across teams.
—Vanina Marcote, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
In a clinical setting, bibliotherapy can be reactive or prescriptive.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 4 May 2025
To some extent, the powers of the new oversight bodies are limited by prescriptive language in the measures themselves.
—Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prescriptive
Cite this Entry
“Prescriptive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prescriptive. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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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
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