descriptive

descriptive

English

Etymology

Latin dēscriptīvus (“containing a full description”)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

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

• (science): prescriptive, normative, non-descriptive

Hyponyms

• self-descriptive

Derived terms

• autodescriptive
• descriptive adjective
• descriptive ethics
• descriptive geometry
• descriptively
• descriptiveness
• descriptive statistics
• descriptivism
• descriptivist
• descriptivistic
• non-descriptive
• self-descriptive

 

Related terms

• describe

 

Translations

of, or relating to description

Armenian: նկարագրական (hy) (nkaragrakan) Belarusian: апіса́льны m (apisálʹny) Bulgarian: описателен (bg) (opisatelen), нагледен (bg) (nagleden) Catalan: descriptiu Czech: popisný (cs) m Danish: beskrivende, deskriptiv Finnish: kuvaileva (fi), esittelevä (fi), toteava (fi), deskriptiivinen (fi) Japanese: (please verify) 説明する (せつめいする, setsumei suru) Ladino: deskriptivo Norwegian: Bokmål: beskrivende (no), deskriptiv (no) Nynorsk: deskriptiv Polish: opisowy (pl) Portuguese: descritivo (pt) Romanian: descriptiv (ro) m or n Russian: описа́тельный (ru) (opisátelʹnyj), нагля́дный (ru) (nagljádnyj) Serbo-Croatian: dȅskriptīvan (sh) Spanish: descriptivo (es) Swedish: beskrivande (sv) Ukrainian: описо́вий (opysóvyj)

stating an attribute to associated noun

Danish: beskrivende, deskriptiv Finnish: kuvaileva (fi), deskriptiivinen (fi) Japanese: 限定用法の (げんていようほうの, gentei yōhō no) Ladino: deskriptivo Russian: описа́тельный (ru) (opisátelʹnyj)

describing a language

Bulgarian: описателен (bg) (opisatelen) Catalan: descriptiu Finnish: kuvaileva (fi), deskriptiivinen (fi) German: deskriptiv (de) Japanese: 記述的な (きじゅつてきな, kijutsuteki na) Ladino: deskriptivo Romanian: descriptiv (ro) m or n Russian: описа́тельный (ru) (opisátelʹnyj) Spanish: descriptivo (es) Swedish: deskriptiv (sv)

describing and seeking to classify

Finnish: kuvaileva (fi), deskriptiivinen (fi) Serbo-Croatian: dȅskriptīvan (sh)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Italian: (please verify) descrittivo (it)

Noun

descriptive (plural descriptives)

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

Derived terms

• auctorial descriptive

See also

• Description on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Linguistic prescription on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• discerptive

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French

Adjective

descriptive

1. feminine singular of descriptif