Synonyms of prescriptive

prescriptive

adjective

pri-ˈskrip-tiv 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• traditional
• customary
• conventional
• classical
• usual
• historical
• authentic
• old
• historic
• common
• orthodox
• established
• habitual
• ancestral
• fixed
• ancient
• old-world
• hoary
• timeless
• antediluvian
• old-time
• immemorial
• venerable
• age-old
• aged
• ageless
• dateless

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• nontraditional
• unconventional
• modern
• new
• contemporary
• untraditional
• current
• up-to-date
• present-day
• new age
• updated
• modernized
• uncustomary
• modernistic
• latest
• futuristic
• progressive
• high-tech
• newfangled
• revolutionary
• unusual
• original
• hot
• state-of-the-art
• ultramodern
• unorthodox
• unprecedented
• red-hot
• mod
• nonconformist
• new-fashioned
• supermodern
• space-age
• nonorthodox

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of prescriptive

The notes were getting out of control and very prescriptive. — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 15 June 2026

The broader governance duties now reach further, but the prescriptive race-impact exam everyone is arguing about began, and for the moment remains, a life-insurance affair. — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 10 June 2026

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