2 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Descriptive \De*scrip"tive\, a. [L. descriptivus: cf F.
descriptif.]
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.
{Descriptive anatomy}, that part of anatomy which treats of
the forms and relations of parts but not of their
textures.
{Descriptive geometry}, that branch of geometry. which treats
of the graphic solution of problems involving three
dimensions, by means of projections upon auxiliary planes.
--Davies & Peck (Math. Dict. ) -- {De*scrip"tive*ly}, adv
-- {De*scrip"tive*ness}, n.
From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]:
descriptive
adj 1: serving to describe or inform or characterized by
description; "the descriptive variable"; "a
descriptive passage" [ant: {undescriptive}]
2: concerned with phenomena (especially language) at a
particular period without considering historical
antecedents; "synchronic linguistics"; "descriptive
linguistics" [syn: {synchronic}] [ant: {diachronic}]
3: (grammar) describing the structure of a language;
"descriptive linguistics simply describes language" [ant:
{prescriptive}]
more about descriptive
browse words by letter
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
or search
thesauri
dictionary
search words
|
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
|
