Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

prescriptive

/pɹəˈskɹɪptɪv/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.77 in modern English

Syllables: pre-scrip-tive
IPA: /pɹəˈskɹɪptɪv/

21

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard.

Example Sentences

"For one thing, spoken language tends to be less subjected to prescriptive pressures than written language, and hence is a less artificial medium of com- munication (written language is often a kind of 'censored' version of spoken language). [...]"

Etymology

From Latin praescriptivus (“relating to a legal exception”), from praescript- (“directed in writing”), from the verb praescribere.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: praescriptivus

Inflected Forms

more prescriptive (comparative) most prescriptive (superlative) præscriptive (alternative) praescriptive (alternative)

Derived Forms

prescriptively prescriptiveness prescriptivism prescriptivist prescriptivistic prescriptivity unprescriptive

Phrases

prescriptive ethics prescriptive grammar

Frequently Paired Words

prescribe prescription

Synonyms

normative

Antonyms

descriptive proscriptive nonprescriptive

Questions

How do you pronounce prescriptive?: The recorded pronunciation is /pɹəˈskɹɪptɪv/.
What does prescriptive mean?: Of or pertaining to prescribing or enjoining, especially an action or behavior based on a norm or standard.
Where does prescriptive come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce prescriptive

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “prescriptive”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pɹəˈskɹɪptɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “prescriptive” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.