prescriptivist

[pri-skrip-tuh-vist]

noun

1. a writer, teacher, or supporter of prescriptive grammar.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or based on prescriptive grammar.

Other Word Forms

• prescriptivism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of prescriptivist¹

First recorded in 1950–55; prescriptive + -ist

Example Sentences

To behold a grammatical descriptivist at war with a grammatical prescriptivist who happens to be her twin is truly an uncommon pleasure.

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If we’re looking for prescriptivist or correct rules for emoji, we might consider the perspective of Shigetaka Kurita, the Japanese designer who has been credited as creating the first widely used set of 176 emoji in 1999.

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One prescriptivist example from English was the long-standing but dubious rule that it’s wrong to end a sentence with a preposition like “to” or “from.”

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Lionel Shriver, by contrast to McCulloch, is a prescriptivist.

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Some purists consider it a “desecration” Kendall isn’t a total prescriptivist when it comes to restoring vintage cars, though.

Read more on The Verge