prescribed

American

[pri-skrahybd] / prɪˈskraɪbd /

adjective

dictated or indicated as a rule or course of action to be followed.

To limit your definition of art to certain prescribed forms is to cut yourself off from the bulk of human existence.
Medicine/Medical. (of a medicine, treatment, etc.) recommended or ordered by a qualified practitioner.

Test results for legal or prescribed drugs are returned in about two minutes.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of prescribe.

Other Word Forms

nonprescribed adjective
self-prescribed adjective
unprescribed adjective

Etymology

Origin of prescribed

prescribe ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But she said the GP prescribed her increasingly higher doses of anti-depressant medication over the phone, until she was on the maximum amount.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

Instead of presenting an organized system of knowledge, whose stylistic or chronological categories suggested hierarchies, it would free visitors, a press release claims, “from prescribed paths to follow their own curiosity.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

You find no prescribed paths at the Geffen Galleries.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Kayan, who is now 13, was already living with several complex medical conditions including chronic kidney disease, and the eight-week course of vitamin D prescribed by his GP was in line with recommendations.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

Nevertheless, the planes hired by the United States Department of Agriculture and the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets in 1957 showered down the prescribed DDT-in-fuel-oil with impartiality.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023