descriptive

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

Latin dēscriptīvus (containing a full description)

PronunciationEdit

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

AdjectiveEdit

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[1], 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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TranslationsEdit

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

NounEdit

descriptive (plural descriptives)

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

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FrenchEdit

AdjectiveEdit

descriptive

  1. feminine singular of descriptif