prescriptivist

[ pri-skrip-tuh-vist ]

/ prɪˈskrɪp tə vɪst /

noun

a writer, teacher, or supporter of prescriptive grammar.

adjective

of, relating to, or based on prescriptive grammar.

Nearby words

prescriptible, prescription, prescriptive, prescriptive grammar, prescriptivism, prescriptivist, prescutum, preseason, preselect, preselector, presell

Origin of prescriptivist

First recorded in 1950–55; prescriptive + -ist

Related forms

pre·scrip·tiv·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for prescriptivism

prescriptivism

/ (prɪˈskrɪptɪˌvɪzəm) /

noun

ethics the theory that moral utterances have no truth value but prescribe attitudes to others and express the conviction of the speakerCompare descriptivism, emotivism

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