1. (ethics) a doctrine holding that moral statements prescribe appropriate attitudes and behaviour
   "His ethical prescriptivism led him to argue that moral statements are commands rather than descriptions"
    
2. (linguistics) a doctrine supporting or promoting prescriptive linguistics
   "The English teacher's prescriptivism was evident in her strict adherence to traditional grammar rules"

Type of: doctrine, ism, philosophical system, philosophy, school of thought

Encyclopedia: Prescriptivism