Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Descriptive
De-scrip′tive
,Adj.
[L.
descriptivus
: cf. F. descriptif
.] Tending to describe; having the quality of representing; containing description;
– as, a
descriptive
figure; a descriptive
phrase; a descriptive
narration; a story descriptive
of the age.De-scrip′tive-ly
, adv.
De-scrip′tive-ness
, Noun.
Definition 2024
descriptive
descriptive
English
Adjective
descriptive (comparative more descriptive, superlative most descriptive)
- Of or relating to description.
- (grammar) Of an adjective, stating an attribute of the associated noun (as heavy in the heavy dictionary).
- (linguistics) Describing the structure, grammar, vocabulary and actual use of a language.
- (sciences, philosophy) Describing and seeking to classify, as opposed to normative or prescriptive.
- 2012 March-April, John T. Jost, “Social Justice: Is It in Our Nature (and Our Future)?”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 162:
- He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record.
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Antonyms
- (science): prescriptive, normative, non-descriptive
Hyponyms
- self-descriptive
Derived terms
Related terms
Related terms
Translations
of, or relating to description
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stating an attribute to associated noun
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describing a language
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describing and seeking to classify
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Noun
descriptive (plural descriptives)
See also
-
Description on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Linguistic prescription on Wikipedia.Wikipedia