Descriptive

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/

Origin

From Latin dēscriptīvus ("containing a full description")

Full definition of descriptive

Adjective

1. Of or relating to description.
2. (grammar) Of an adjective, stating an attribute of the associated noun (as heavy in the heavy dictionary).
3. (linguistics)   Describing the structure, grammar, vocabulary and actual use of a language.
4. (science, philosophy) Describing and seeking to classify, as opposed to normative or prescriptive.
• 2012, John T. Jost, Social Justice: Is It in Our Nature (and Our Future)?, He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record.

Antonyms

• (science) prescriptive, normative, non-descriptive

Related terms

• describe

Derived terms

• descriptively
• descriptiveness
• descriptive ethics
• descriptive geometry
• descriptive statistics

Noun

1. (grammar) An adjective (or other descriptive word)