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

• classical
• conventional
• customary
• traditional

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

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

Today’s tools also enable prescriptive analytics that recommend what actions to take when the very events that are predicted to occur are detected. —Josh Dunham, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025

Breed clubs created prescriptive standards that specified exactly how the perfect pointer (or bulldog or foxhound) should look. —Emily Anthes, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2025

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