Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

descriptive

/dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.54 in modern English

Syllables
de-scrip-tive
IPA
/dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/
19
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of, relating to, or providing a description.

adj

Of an adjective, stating an attribute of the associated noun (as heavy in the heavy dictionary).

adj

Describing the structure, grammar, vocabulary and actual use of a language.

adj

Describing and seeking to classify, as opposed to normative or prescriptive.

noun

An adjective (or other descriptive word).

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Latin dēscriptīvus (“containing a full description”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: descriptivus

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/
  • British English: /dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/

Inflected Forms

more descriptive (comparative) most descriptive (superlative) descriptives (plural)

Derived Forms

autodescriptive descriptively descriptiveness descriptivism descriptivist descriptivistic descriptivity indescriptive metadescriptive misdescriptive overdescriptive undescriptive

Phrases

descriptive adjective descriptive ethics descriptive geometry descriptive statistics non-descriptive self-descriptive auctorial descriptive

Frequently Paired Words

describe

Antonyms

normative non-descriptive prescriptive

Questions

How do you pronounce descriptive?
The recorded pronunciation is /dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/.
What does descriptive mean?
Of, relating to, or providing a description.
Where does descriptive come from?
It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce descriptive

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “descriptive”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “descriptive”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “descriptive” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.