1. giving or serving as instructions about what should be done; telling people what they should do
2. relating to or enforcing rules about correct language use rather than describing how language is actually used
Usage: linguistics
3. acquired by long use or enjoyment; established by custom
Usage: legal

Examples

• The teacher’s prescriptive approach left little room for student creativity.
• Many grammar books take a prescriptive stance on language rules.
• The company issued prescriptive guidelines for employee conduct.
• Prescriptive grammar focuses on how language should be used.
• The manual provides prescriptive instructions for assembly.
• His prescriptive teaching style emphasized strict adherence to rules.
• The prescriptive nature of the policy frustrated many workers.