descriptive

adj. giving a clear and detailed picture of what something or someone is like.

adj. providing a detailed account or representation of the characteristics of a person, object, or event.

“The author used very descriptive language to help the reader imagine the forest.”

“The witness provided a highly descriptive account of the suspect, noting specific details about his clothing and mannerisms that proved vital to the investigation.”

adj. describing how people actually use a language, rather than telling them how they should use it.

adj. referring to an approach that analyses and records how language is naturally used by its speakers without making value judgements.

“A descriptive grammar book explains how people talk in real life.”

“Modern linguistics is primarily a descriptive science, focusing on the underlying patterns of speech rather than enforcing arbitrary grammatical rules.”

Academic · Technical

adj. used to name or group things based on what they are like.

adj. serving to classify or identify something by its qualities rather than by its function or value.

“The scientist gave the new bird a descriptive name based on its red wings.”

“The study adopted a purely descriptive framework to categorise the various social behaviours observed in the primate colony.”

Academic · Formal