Prescriptive refers to the nature of a statement that prescribes or recommends how things ought to be. A prescriptive theory is one that says how people or things should function, as opposed to how they actually do.
In property law, a party could seek a prescriptive easement to acquire an owner’s land.
See also: descriptive (contrast).
[Last updated in December of 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team]