descriptivism

不可数

A noun referring to a doctrine or approach that describes how language or morality is actually used or practiced, rather than prescribing how it should be.

• 🇨🇳名词，指一种学说或方法，主张描述语言或道德实际被使用或实践的方式，而不是规定其应该如何。

1. Ethical doctrine C1 formal

   A theory in ethics stating that moral statements can be true or false because they describe objective features of the world.

   • Descriptivism in ethics argues that 'murder is wrong' is a factual claim.
   • Philosophers debate whether moral descriptivism can account for moral disagreement.
   • The theory of descriptivism contrasts with non-cognitivism in metaethics.

   🇨🇳描述主义

   反义词: prescriptivism

2. Linguistic approach C1 formal

   An approach to language study that describes how language is actually used by speakers, rather than prescribing how it should be used.

   • Modern linguistics largely follows descriptivism, analyzing real speech patterns.
   • Descriptivism accepts regional dialects as valid linguistic systems.
   • The dictionary's usage notes reflect a descriptivist perspective on language change.

   🇨🇳描写语言学

   反义词: prescriptivism

• descriptivisms plural form
• descriptivisms' possessive plural form
• descriptivism's possessive singular form