descriptive

English

Etymology

Latin dēscriptīvus (“containing a full description”)

Pronunciation
  • (UK) IPA(key): /dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/

Adjective

descriptive (comparative more descriptive, superlative most descriptive)

  1. Of, relating to, or providing a 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. (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.

Antonyms

Hyponyms
  • self-descriptive

Derived terms

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

descriptive (plural descriptives)

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

See also

Anagrams

French

Adjective

descriptive

  1. feminine singular of descriptif
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