descriptivist

[dih-skrip-tuh-vist]

See more synonyms for descriptivist on Thesaurus.com

noun

a writer, teacher, or supporter of descriptive grammar or descriptive linguistics.

adjective

of, relating to, or based on descriptive grammar or descriptive linguistics.

Origin of descriptivist

First recorded in 1950–55; descriptive + -ist

Related formsde·scrip·tiv·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for descriptivism

Contemporary Examples

And descriptivism may be the last refuge of the linguistic conservative after the former mistake has become the current rule.
Busted by The Language Cops
David Frum
April 30, 2012

British Dictionary definitions for descriptivism

descriptivism

noun

ethics the theory that moral utterances have a truth valueCompare prescriptivism, emotivism

Derived Formsdescriptivist, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012