What does descriptive mean?
Definitions for descriptive
dɪˈskrɪp tɪvde·scrip·tive
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word descriptive.
Princeton's WordNet
descriptiveadjective
serving to describe or inform or characterized by description
"the descriptive variable"; "a descriptive passage"
descriptiveadjective
describing the structure of a language
"descriptive grammar"
Wiktionary
descriptivenoun
An adjective (or other descriptive word)
descriptiveadjective
Of, or relating to description.
descriptiveadjective
Of an adjective, stating an attribute of the associated noun (as heavy in the heavy dictionary).
descriptiveadjective
Describing the structure, grammar, vocabulary and actual use of a language.
descriptiveadjective
Describing and seeking to classify, as opposed to normative or prescriptive.
Etymology: From descriptivus
Wikipedia
descriptive
In the study of language, description or descriptive linguistics is the work of objectively analyzing and describing how language is actually used (or how it was used in the past) by a speech community.All academic research in linguistics is descriptive; like all other scientific disciplines, it seeks to describe reality, without the bias of preconceived ideas about how it ought to be. Modern descriptive linguistics is based on a structural approach to language, as exemplified in the work of Leonard Bloomfield and others. This type of linguistics utilizes different methods in order to describe a language such as basic data collection, and different types of elicitation methods.
Webster Dictionary
Descriptiveadjective
tending to describe; having the quality of representing; containing description; as, a descriptive figure; a descriptive phrase; a descriptive narration; a story descriptive of the age
Etymology: [L. descriptivus: cf. F. descriptif.]
Editors Contribution
descriptive
The use of language to describe.
The article was descriptive and accurate to describe the definition.
Submitted by MaryC on April 19, 2020
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of descriptive in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of descriptive in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4
Examples of descriptive in a Sentence
Today, the published literature is very descriptive on all the problems that happen. It’s just that doctors are divided and it’s not clear why there’s disagreement on something that’s so common.
The cone graphics try to be everything to everyone, and the end result is a complicated graphic that might not necessarily meet its goals, although all of its components are described on the graphic itself, people don't always read legends or descriptive text.
No one knows what it’s like to get a descriptive, detailed way of how someone you love died, a lot of people don’t get a description of how someone died in hospital. But for us, it was in the news every day. It was very hard to read. But it was unavoidable.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid:
My staff has always said, 'Don't say this,' but I'm going to say it again because it's so descriptive because it's true, in the summertime, because [of] the high humidity and how hot it gets here, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capitol.
We're talking loud, obnoxious snoring, the type that would drown out conversations or be heard through closed doors, some of the very descriptive bed partners of my patients with obstructive sleep apnea describe their partners' snores as listening to a' dying bear' or a scene from' Jurassic Park,'.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for descriptive
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- апіса́льныBelarusian
- описателен, нагледенBulgarian
- popisnýCzech
- deskriptivGerman
- deskriptiivinen, kuvailla, kuvaileva, todeta, esitelläFinnish
- 記述的な, 説明する, 限定用法のJapanese
- opisowyPolish
- descritivoPortuguese
- descriptivRomanian
- наглядный, описательныйRussian
- dȅskriptīvanSerbo-Croatian
- beskrivande, deskriptivSwedish
Get even more translations for descriptive »
Translation
Find a translation for the descriptive definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"descriptive." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 1 Jun 2023. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/descriptive>.
Discuss these descriptive definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In