Join In
Twitter
YouTube
Weekly Newsletter
Libraries
A-Z Grammatical Terms
A-Z Confused Words
FAQs by Writers
A-Z Awkward Plurals
Punctuation Lessons
Common Mistakes
(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
for your browser
(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
for your browser
Prescribe or Proscribe?
What Is the Difference between "Prescribe" and "Proscribe"?
"Prescribe" and "proscribe" are easy to confuse because they sound so similar (i.e., they are nearly homonyms). Additionally, "proscribe" has the prefix "pro" (which usually means "supportive of"), so it feels like a positive word. However, "proscribe" means "to forbid," which expresses negativity.- "Prescribe" means to recommend or to authorize.
- The critic should describe and not prescribe.
(Playwright Eugene Ionesco)
(Here, "prescribe" means recommend.)
- In the future, we might not prescribe drugs all the time. We might prescribe apps. (Inventor Daniel Kraft) ("Prescribe" is often used in a medical context, e.g., to prescribe antibiotics. It is commonly seen as a noun, e.g., a doctor's prescription.)
- "Proscribe" means to forbid.
- France has effectively proscribed religion from public life.
(Novelist Pankaj Mishra)
- They are members of a proscribed organization.


More about "Prescribe" and "Proscribe"
Prescribe
The verb "to prescribe" means to recommend or to authorize.Example sentences with "prescribe":
- I have prescribed you a course of antibiotics.
- The law prescribes a minimum of 10 years' incarceration for your offence.
Proscribe
The verb "to proscribe" means to forbid, to limit, or to banish.Example sentences with "proscribe":
- These photos are worthless. Such images are proscribed by law.
- Police have been tracking three members of the group, which was proscribed in the 1980s.
- Name one country that does not proscribe theft.
- These right- and left-wing groups are now proscribed organizations.
Ready for the Test?
Help Us Improve Grammar Monster
- Do you disagree with something on this page?
- Did you spot a typo?
Find Us Quicker!
- When using a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing), you will find Grammar Monster quicker if you add #gm to your search term.