“The company policy prescribes personal use of work laptops.”
Confusables Entry 290 / 1011 60-second read
Prescribe vs. Proscribe
To recommend versus to forbid.
The comparisoni
“The company policy proscribes personal use of work laptops.”
More examplesii
01
The manual proscribes the correct installation steps.
The manual prescribes the correct installation steps.
02
The law proscribes smoking in public buildings.
The law proscribes smoking in public buildings.
The ruleiii
¶
PRESCRIBE = to recommend or authorize.
They are near-opposites in meaning but sound nearly identical. In technical documentation, 'prescribing' a solution is common, but 'proscribing' a behavior is equally important.
Memory aidiv
Remember it like this
PrEscribe is to rEcommend. PrOscribe is to say 'NO' (the 'o' in pro).