descriptive
/dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/adjective, noun
descriptive is spelled D-E-S-C-R-I-P-T-I-V-E: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “descriptive vs prescriptive” about 2,900 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, descriptive means “Of, relating to, or providing a description” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in descriptive?
| Letters | 11: D-E-S-C-R-I-P-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 14,106th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is descriptive?
Descriptive appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce descriptive?
- UK /dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/
- British /dɪˈskɹɪptɪv/
- British /dəˈskɹɪptɪv/
Descriptive has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-descriptive.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with descriptive
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of descriptive
- more descriptive comparative
- most descriptive superlative
- descriptives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does descriptive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, relating to, or providing a description.
- 2
Of an adjective, stating an attribute of the associated noun (as heavy in the heavy dictionary).
- 3
Describing the structure, grammar, vocabulary and actual use of a language.
- 4
Describing and seeking to classify, as opposed to normative or prescriptive.
noun
- 1
An adjective (or other descriptive word).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Descriptive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | descritivo |
| Spanish | descriptivo, descriptorio (disused) |
| German | deskriptiv |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does descriptive come from?
From Latin dēscriptīvus (“containing a full description”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).