proscriptive

American  

[proh-skrip-tiv] / proʊˈskrɪp tɪv /

adjective

1. involving, imposing, or defining limits or prohibitions.

   We want the guidelines to be useful, broadly applicable, and not overly proscriptive and narrow.

   Rather than a proscriptive diet, in which the patient is limited to eating certain foods and measured portions, we encourage eating a wide range of foods in moderation.

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Other Word Forms

• nonproscriptive
  adjective
• unproscriptive
  adjective
• nonproscriptively
  adverb
• proscriptively
  adverb
• unproscriptively
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of proscriptive

First recorded in 1740–50; from Latin prōscript-, stem of prōscrībere “to publish in writing” ( see proscribe ( def. )) + -ive ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

proscriptive

Viewed this way, minding our p’s and q’s is less about proscriptive notions of correctness, and more about mindfulness, self-discovery and proper conduct.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2023

I think the beginning was a long time ago for anything and everything, so the first step is never proscriptive or formulated.

From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2022

That’s not just descriptive; it’s prescriptive, and proscriptive too.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2018

People have this sense that we're going to learn some kind of proscriptive technique to prevent events like this from happening and that's not really what you learn from these events.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2017

The only part that the so-called Race Question plays in this business is that it is used as a pretext to justify the coercive and proscriptive methods thus used.

From The Facts of Reconstruction by John R. Lynch

Related Words

• excessive
• exorbitant
• preposterous
• steep