1. The approach or doctrine that language and grammar should be described as they are actually used by speakers and writers, rather than prescribed according to rules or standards.
Usage: linguistics; philosophy of language

Examples

• Descriptivism in linguistics focuses on how people actually speak rather than how they should speak.
• Modern linguists often favor descriptivism over prescriptivism when analyzing language change.
• The debate between descriptivism and prescriptivism has shaped language education for decades.
• Descriptivism allows for the acceptance of nonstandard dialects as valid forms of communication.
• A descriptivist approach to grammar documents real usage patterns in a language community.