as in traditional
based on customs usually handed down from a previous generation
even in this age of e-mail the prescriptive response to a wedding gift is a handwritten thank-you note
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Recent Examples of prescriptive
To stop a race to the bottom in the scope of benefits, the ACA imposes highly prescriptive benefit mandates and network-adequacy requirements.
—
Chris Pope, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2026
Being incredibly prescriptive about child-rearing in that way can arguably be harmful because children are their own people, and part of growing up is making mistakes.
—CNN Money, 25 Mar. 2026
An addendum to team agreements outlines 14 highly specific marketing requirements—far more prescriptive than the general promotional language typically found in college sports event contracts.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 20 Mar. 2026
But the Daodejing is more descriptive than prescriptive – less how-to and more what is.
—Stephen Chen, The Conversation, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for prescriptive
Chris Pope, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2026
Being incredibly prescriptive about child-rearing in that way can arguably be harmful because children are their own people, and part of growing up is making mistakes.
—CNN Money, 25 Mar. 2026
An addendum to team agreements outlines 14 highly specific marketing requirements—far more prescriptive than the general promotional language typically found in college sports event contracts.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 20 Mar. 2026
But the Daodejing is more descriptive than prescriptive – less how-to and more what is.
—Stephen Chen, The Conversation, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for prescriptive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prescriptive
Adjective
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Bedside lanterns, traditional tea pots above the minibar, and authentic decorative pottery fill the room.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 May 2026
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But Hadler does not believe that fibromyalgia should be classified as a disease in the traditional biomedical sense, because medicine has yet to identify a discrete, demonstrable pathophysiological process underlying it.—
Jason Liebowitz,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
Adjective
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As the players headed to their benches and the officials took their customary walks to the scorer’s table for the time out, Atkinson scrunched his face, stuck out his hands, and mockingly clapped toward Blair — who ignored the obvious taunt.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
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The transaction is expected to close by the end of May subject to customary closing conditions.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
11 May 2026
Adjective
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Putin has claimed that Oreshnik’s multiple warheads plunge at speeds of up to Mach 10 and can’t be intercepted, and that several such missiles used in a conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
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Many land requirements for cemeteries like fencing or paved roads were designed with conventional burial plots in mind, said Sarah Chavez, executive director of Order of the Good Death, a group that advocates for positive deathcare experiences.—
Karina Tsui,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prescriptive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prescriptive. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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