prescriptive
/prəˈskrɪptɪv/
adjective
- Giving rules or instructions about how something should be done, rather than simply describing how it is done.
- The new policy is less prescriptive and allows employees more freedom to choose their own methods.
- Some teachers take a prescriptive approach to grammar, insisting on strict rules.
- The manual is very prescriptive, telling you exactly which button to press at each step.
- Relating to the idea that language should follow fixed rules of correctness, rather than how people actually use it.
- Many linguists criticize prescriptive grammar rules for ignoring how language naturally changes.
- The textbook takes a prescriptive stance, telling students never to split infinitives.
- His prescriptive view of English makes him correct people's grammar constantly.
Antonyms