1. a person who believes that language should be described as it is actually used, rather than prescribed according to rules or standards
Usage: linguistics; philosophy of language

1. relating to or characteristic of descriptivism; based on describing language as it is used rather than as it should be used
Usage: linguistics; philosophy of language

Examples

• A descriptivist linguist studies how people actually speak, not how grammar books say they should speak.
• The descriptivist approach accepts 'ain't' as a valid part of English dialects.
• Descriptivists argue that language rules evolve naturally from usage patterns.
• Her descriptivist methodology involved recording and analyzing real conversations.
• The debate between prescriptivists and descriptivists has shaped modern linguistics.
• Descriptivist scholars document regional variations in pronunciation and vocabulary.