descriptive

American  

[dih-skrip-tiv] / dɪˈskrɪp tɪv /

adjective

1. having the quality of describing; characterized by description.

   a descriptive passage in an essay.

2. Grammar.

   1. (of an adjective or other modifier) expressing a quality of the word it modifies, as fresh in fresh milk.

   2. (of a clause) nonrestrictive.

3. noting, concerned with, or based upon the fact or experience.

4. characterized by or based upon the classification and description of material in a given field.

   descriptive botany.

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descriptive British  

/ dɪˈskrɪptɪv /

adjective

1. characterized by or containing description; serving to describe

2. grammar (of an adjective) serving to describe the referent of the noun modified, as for example the adjective brown as contrasted with my and former

3. relating to or based upon description or classification rather than explanation or prescription

   descriptive linguistics

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Other Word Forms

• descriptively adverb
• descriptiveness noun
• nondescriptive adjective
• nondescriptively adverb
• nondescriptiveness noun
• overdescriptive adjective
• overdescriptively adverb
• overdescriptiveness noun
• self-descriptive adjective
• undescriptive adjective
• undescriptively adverb
• undescriptiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of descriptive

1745–55; < Late Latin dēscrīptīvus, equivalent to Latin dēscrīpt ( us ) ( see description) + -īvus -ive

Explanation

Descriptive language is vivid and specific, and helps someone imagine a scene he didn't witness. You probably hope that your friend who works at the morgue isn't too descriptive when you ask him how his day was. The word descriptive comes from the Latin descript-, meaning "written down." Something that is descriptive uses an account of words to give us a sense of what it's like. We usually use descriptive when people are very effective at conveying something. James Agee is an author who excels at descriptive writing, spending pages and pages beautifully describing the scene of a poor cabin in the moonlight.

Example Sentences

Much of her sophomore album “Vanity” has main character energy, and Lovestory’s “Telenovela,” with its extended metaphors of Barbarella bad bitches, “tragica erotica,” and using “su lengua pa cambiar el canal” is the descriptive centerpiece.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025

It’s time to look beyond the alphabet for something more descriptive.

From Barron's • Dec. 4, 2025

"In short, investigating fanaticism is not merely descriptive -- it is developmentally informed prevention that protects public health and strengthens democratic cohesion. When we discuss fanaticism, the facts speak for themselves."

From Science Daily • Nov. 11, 2025

It was purely descriptive: a recognition that social and cultural factors shape human behavior.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025

The magazine was printed somewhere in Maine and full of stenciled poems and descriptive paragraphs separated from each other by asterisks.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

Related Words

• definitive
• detailed
• eloquent
• expressive
• identifying
• illuminating
• pictorial
• revealing
• vivid