descriptive

English

Etymology

From Latin dēscriptīvus (“containing a full description”)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/

Adjective

descriptive (comparative more descriptive, superlative most descriptive)

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. (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)?”, 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

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

Related terms

• describe

Derived terms

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

Translations

of, or relating to description

• Bulgarian: описателен (bg) (opisatelen), нагледен (bg) (nagleden)
• Czech: popisný (cs) m
• Finnish: kuvaileva (fi), esittelevä (fi), toteava (fi), deskriptiivinen (fi)
• Japanese: 説明する (ja) (せつめいする, setsumei suru)

• Portuguese: descritivo (pt)
• Romanian: descriptiv (ro) m and n
• Russian: описательный (ru) (opisátelʹnyj), наглядный (ru) (nagljádnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: dȅskriptīvan (sh)

stating an attribute to associated noun

• Finnish: kuvaileva (fi), deskriptiivinen (fi)
• Japanese: 限定用法の (ja) (げんていようほうの, gentei yōhō no)

• Russian: описательный (ru) (opisátelʹnyj)

describing a language

• Bulgarian: описателен (bg) (opisatelen)
• Finnish: kuvaileva (fi), deskriptiivinen (fi)
• German: deskriptiv (de)

• Japanese: 記述的な (ja) (きじゅつてきな, kijutsuteki na)
• Romanian: descriptiv (ro) m and n
• Russian: описательный (ru) (opisátelʹnyj)

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, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: descrittivo

Noun

descriptive (plural descriptives)

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

See also

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

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French

Adjective

descriptive f

1. feminine form of descriptif