ascriptive roles

/əˈskrɪptɪv roʊlz/

noun phrase

  1. Social roles or statuses assigned to a person at birth or acquired involuntarily, rather than achieved through personal choice or effort.

    C1

    plural

    • "In many societies, ascriptive roles can limit individuals' opportunities."B2
    • "Gender is often considered an ascriptive role because it is assigned at birth."C1
    • "In some societies, ascriptive roles determine a person's occupation, social rank, or political power."C1

Common mistakes

  • ascribed roles are roles people choose through hard work→ascribed roles are roles assigned to people, often at birth

    Ascriptive roles are contrasted with achieved roles, which result from choice or effort.

Collocations

ascriptive statusachieved rolessocial rolesascription of statusascriptive roles in societygender as an ascriptive role

Word family

ascribeascriptionascriptiverole