Word.ws English Dictionary

prescriptionist

prescriptionist adjective: relying on historical precedent rather than current usage (to determine rights or correctness).

Adjective

prescriptionist (comparative more prescriptionist, superlative most prescriptionist)

  1. Relying on historical precedent rather than current usage (to determine rights or correctness).
    • Much of the disagreement between the prescriptionist and descriptionist views turns on the question of compensation among generations.1996, James P. Bruce, Hoe-sŏng Yi, Erik F. Haites, Climate Change 1995, →ISBN
    • Educators often come into the profession with a certain view of language that is more prescriptionist in nature (Edwards, 1982; Taylor, 1983; Trudgill, 1975; Williams, 1976).2008, Maria Elisa Paredes, Language Attitudes, Linguistic Knowledge, and the Multicultural Education of Pre-Service Teachers, →ISBN

Noun

prescriptionist (plural prescriptionists)

  1. One who advocates a prescriptionist approach.
    • In a fine essay, Terry Eagleton has argued that rights, for a prescriptionist like Burke, are validated by 'the recounting of a certain narrative'.2005, G. Edwards, Narrative Order, 1789-1819: Life and Story in an Age of Revolution, →ISBN
    • When there are many speakers of a language around, even the staunchest prescriptionist would agree that the manner of spelling is less vital to the perpetuation of the language.2009, Paul V. Kroskrity, Margaret C. Field, Native American Language Ideologies, →ISBN
  2. A specialist in preparing medications.
    • The practical prescriptionist is an expert at compatibility, for his daily work brings him continually face to face with the problems of compatibility and incompatibility; and he usually knows more Meteria Medica (not Therapeutics) than all the physicians in his town.1907, The Northwestern Druggist, page 19
    • In the meantime the prescriptionist transfers data from the doctor's prescription to the computer. The computer prices the drug and writes out a label while the prescriptionist collects the prescribed drug.1984, Joaquin Bonal, J. W. Poston, Clinical Pharmacy and Patient Education, →ISBN
  3. One who prescribes.
    • In North Carolina, as throughout the Southern Region, all timber management prescriptions are prepared by a certified compartment prescriptionist, a forester, who has completed formal training and has demonstrated proficiency in on-the-job application of standard silvicultural practices.1974, John P Slusher, Thomas M Hinkley, Proceedings, page 61
    • The exercise prescriptionist must be aware of these various causes when assessing posture.1985, J. Gavin Reid, John M. Thomson, Exercise Prescription for Fitness, page 38

Examples of prescriptionist in a sentence

  • Teaching the English language may be their bread and butter, but they are unable to enforce the notion of a 'standard prescriptionist English.'2014, Stuart Nicholson, Is Jazz Dead?: Or Has It Moved to a New Address, →ISBN, page 174:
  • But that would depend on us being a usagist rather than a prescriptionist with respect to language.2013, Rachel Schutt, Cathy O'Neil, Doing Data Science: Straight Talk from the Frontline, →ISBN, page 13:
  • He has served as a prescriptionist to the leading pharmacists of the old country, and been employed in many of our American cities.2013, Robin Sterling, People and Things from the Cullman, Alabama Tribune 1877 - 1898, →ISBN:
  • Experience as an educational prescriptionist or in any other teaching field is not considered qualifying experience.1996, Overseas Employment Opportunities for Educators, →ISBN:

Synonyms of prescriptionist

Forms of prescriptionist

Adjective
comparativemore prescriptionist
superlativemost prescriptionist
Noun
pluralprescriptionists

Origin of prescriptionist

From prescription + -ist.

Questions about prescriptionist

What does prescriptionist mean?
Prescriptionist means relying on historical precedent rather than current usage (to determine rights or correctness).
How do you use prescriptionist in a sentence?
Teaching the English language may be their bread and butter, but they are unable to enforce the notion of a 'standard prescriptionist English.'
What part of speech is prescriptionist?
Prescriptionist can be an adjective or a noun.

Words near prescriptionist in the dictionary

  1. prescription bottle
  2. prescription bottles
  3. prescription drug
  4. prescription drugs
  5. prescription glasses
  6. prescriptionist
  7. prescriptionistic
  8. prescriptionists
  9. prescriptionless
  10. prescriptions
  11. prescriptive

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: prescriptionist (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “prescriptionist.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/prescriptionist. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.