Subscribe vs. Prescribe — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Urooj Arif — Updated on April 24, 2024
Subscribe generally means to agree with or arrange to receive something regularly, while prescribe involves a professional recommending or authorizing something, especially medicine.
Difference Between Subscribe and Prescribe
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
To subscribe means to sign up to receive regular updates or services, such as newsletters, magazines, or streaming services. It often involves agreeing to recurring payments or acceptance of regular content delivery. On the other hand, to prescribe typically refers to a doctor recommending specific medicines or treatments, entailing a formal authorization which usually requires a professional license.
In digital terms, subscribing can refer to joining an email list or a YouTube channel to receive updates from content creators. This action reflects a user's choice to continuously engage with certain content. Conversely, prescribing in a digital context might refer to software or applications recommended by IT professionals for use in specific tasks or solutions, emphasizing a directive based on expertise and authority.
When subscribing to a service, the customer generally has the freedom to choose among various options and can usually unsubscribe at any time. This choice empowers consumers to customize their intake of services or information. Prescribing, however, is more directive and often lacks an alternative choice, as it typically follows a diagnosis with specific treatments outlined by a healthcare provider.
Subscription models are crucial for businesses in building a steady revenue stream and fostering customer loyalty through regular engagement. Whereas, prescription practices are essential in healthcare for ensuring that patients receive appropriate and safe treatments tailored to their medical needs.
Subscriptions can also imply agreement with ideas or theories, such as subscribing to a particular philosophy or belief system. In contrast, prescribing extends beyond recommendations, including setting detailed guidelines or rules, such as prescribing a course of action in policy or procedure.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Agree to receive something regularly
Recommend as a necessary treatment or procedure
Context
Media, services, digital content
Medical, authoritative directives
Voluntariness
Usually voluntary and can be cancelled
Often mandatory following professional advice
Engagement Type
Recurrent engagement with content or services
Compliance with recommended health practices
Impact
Consumer satisfaction and business revenue
Health outcomes and treatment efficacy
Compare with Definitions
Subscribe
Agree to receive.
I decided to subscribe to the monthly gardening magazine.
Prescribe
Recommend specifically.
The therapist prescribed regular exercise for recovery.
Subscribe
Join a service.
He subscribed to the premium music streaming service.
Prescribe
Order with authority.
The dietician prescribed a low-sodium diet.
Subscribe
Endorse a belief.
She subscribes to the principles of environmentalism.
Prescribe
Authorize treatment.
The doctor prescribed antibiotics for the infection.
Subscribe
Commit regularly.
They subscribe to an annual software update plan.
Prescribe
Set as a rule.
The regulations prescribe safety standards.
Subscribe
Opt into updates.
Subscribe to our channel for the latest tutorials.
Prescribe
Advise officially.
Prescribe measures to mitigate the environmental impact.
Subscribe
Arrange to receive something, typically a publication, regularly by paying in advance
Subscribe to the magazine for twelve months and receive a free limited-edition T-shirt
Prescribe
(of a medical practitioner) advise and authorize the use of (a medicine or treatment) for someone, especially in writing
He was prescribed a course of antibiotics
Her doctor prescribed sleeping tablets
Subscribe
Express or feel agreement with (an idea or proposal)
We prefer to subscribe to an alternative explanation
Prescribe
State authoritatively or as a rule that (an action or procedure) should be carried out
Rules prescribing five acts for a play are purely arbitrary
Subscribe
Sign (a will, contract, or other document)
He subscribed the will as a witness
Prescribe
To set down as a rule, law, or direction
Prescribed the terms of the surrender.
Subscribe
To pledge or contribute (a sum of money).
Prescribe
To order the use of (a medicine or other treatment).
Subscribe
To sign (one's name) at the end of a document, especially to attest to or authenticate it.
Prescribe
To establish rules, laws, or directions.
Subscribe
To sign one's name to (a document) in attestation, testimony, or consent
Subscribe a will.
Prescribe
To order a medicine or other treatment.
Subscribe
To purchase or claim the shares of (a new issue of stock, bonds, or other securities)
A bond offering that is fully subscribed.
Prescribe
(medicine) To order (a drug or medical device) for use by a particular patient (under licensed authority).
The doctor prescribed aspirin.
Subscribe
To contract to receive and pay for a certain number of issues of a publication, for access to a website that is protected by a paywall, for tickets to a series of events or performances, or for a utility service, for example.
Prescribe
To specify by writing as a required procedure or ritual; to lay down authoritatively as a guide, direction, or rule of action.
The property meets the criteria prescribed by the regulations.
Subscribe
To agree to an ongoing arrangement by which one receives online content, as from a specific website or a specific user on a website.
Prescribe
(law) To develop or assert a right; to make a claim (by prescription).
Subscribe
To promise to pay or contribute money
Subscribe to a charity.
Prescribe
To lay down authoritatively as a guide, direction, or rule of action; to impose as a peremptory order; to dictate; to appoint; to direct.
Prescribe not us our duties.
Let streams prescribe their fountains where to run.
Subscribe
To purchase or claim shares of a new issue of stock, bonds, or other securities
An investor who subscribed for 100 shares.
Prescribe
To direct, as a remedy to be used by a patient; as, the doctor prescribed quinine.
Subscribe
To feel or express hearty approval
I subscribe to your opinion.
Prescribe
To give directions; to dictate.
A forwardness to prescribe to their opinions.
Subscribe
To sign one's name to a document.
Prescribe
To influence by long use
Subscribe
(ergative) To sign up to have copies of a publication, such as a newspaper or a magazine, delivered for a period of time.
Would you like to subscribe or subscribe a friend to our new magazine, Lexicography Illustrated?
Prescribe
To write or to give medical directions; to indicate remedies; as, to prescribe for a patient in a fever.
Subscribe
To pay for the provision of a service, such as Internet access or a cell phone plan.
Prescribe
To claim by prescription; to claim a title to a thing on the ground of immemorial use and enjoyment, that is, by a custom having the force of law.
Subscribe
To believe or agree with a theory or an idea to}}.
I don’t subscribe to that theory.
Prescribe
Issue commands or orders for
Subscribe
To pay money to be a member of an organization.
Subscribe
(intransitive) To contribute or promise to contribute money to a common fund.
Subscribe
(transitive) To promise to give, by writing one's name with the amount.
Each man subscribed ten dollars.
Subscribe
To agree to buy shares in a company.
Subscribe
(transitive) To sign; to mark with one's signature as a token of consent or attestation.
Parties subscribe a covenant or contract; a man subscribes a bond.
Officers subscribe their official acts, and secretaries and clerks subscribe copies or records.
Subscribe
(archaic) To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name).
Subscribe
(obsolete) To sign away; to yield; to surrender.
Subscribe
(obsolete) To yield; to admit to being inferior or in the wrong.
Subscribe
To declare over one's signature; to publish.
Subscribe
(intransitive) To indicate interest in the communications made by a person or organization.
Please like this video, and subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Subscribe
To register for notifications about an event or similar.
If you subscribe to the MouseClick event, your application can react to the user clicking the mouse.
Subscribe
To write underneath, as one's name; to sign (one's name) to a document.
[They] subscribed their names under them.
Subscribe
To sign with one's own hand; to give consent to, as something written, or to bind one's self to the terms of, by writing one's name beneath; as, parties subscribe a covenant or contract; a man subscribes a bond.
All the bishops subscribed the sentence.
Subscribe
To attest by writing one's name beneath; as, officers subscribe their official acts, and secretaries and clerks subscribe copies or records.
Subscribe
To promise to give, by writing one's name with the amount; as, each man subscribed ten dollars.
Subscribe
To sign away; to yield; to surrender.
Subscribe
To declare over one's signature; to publish.
Either or must shortly hear from him, or I will subscribe him a coward.
Subscribe
To sign one's name to a letter or other document.
Subscribe
To give consent to something written, by signing one's name; hence, to assent; to agree.
So spake, so wished, much humbled Eve; but FateSubscribed not.
Subscribe
To become surely; - with for.
Subscribe
To yield; to admit one's self to be inferior or in the wrong.
I will subscribe, and say I wronged the duke.
Subscribe
To set one's name to a paper in token of promise to give a certain sum.
Subscribe
To enter one's name for a newspaper, a book, etc.
Subscribe
Offer to buy, as of stocks and shares;
The broker subscribed 500 shares
Subscribe
Mark with one's signature; write one's name (on);
She signed the letter and sent it off
Please sign here
Subscribe
Adopt as a belief;
I subscribe to your view on abortion
Subscribe
Pay (an amount of money) as a contribution to a charity or service, especially at regular intervals;
I pledged $10 a month to my favorite radio station
Subscribe
Receive or obtain by regular payment;
We take the Times every day
Common Curiosities
How does a digital subscription work?
Users pay a recurring fee to access digital content like streaming video, software, or databases.
What is the importance of prescribing in healthcare?
It ensures patients receive the correct medications and treatments for their conditions.
Can anyone prescribe medication?
Only licensed professionals like doctors or nurse practitioners can legally prescribe medications.
What does it mean to subscribe to a theory?
To agree with or adopt a particular set of ideas or beliefs.
How does subscribing to a newsletter benefit you?
It keeps you informed on specific topics of interest regularly.
Can a subscription be free?
Yes, some subscriptions, like email newsletters, can be free.
What are the benefits of subscribing to a service?
Benefits include regular updates, convenience, and often discounted pricing.
What legal authority does a prescription have?
A prescription is a legal document that allows for the dispensing of certain medications.
What does it mean to prescribe a course of action?
To officially recommend a specific procedure or strategy.
Can you unsubscribe from a prescription?
While you can choose to stop taking a prescribed medication, this should only be done under medical advice.
How do subscriptions impact business models?
They provide reliable revenue and help in planning and resource allocation.
What's the difference between subscribing and following?
Subscribing often implies a formal agreement and possible payment, whereas following might be free and less formal.
What can be prescribed other than medication?
Lifestyle changes, therapies, and specific diets can also be prescribed.
What responsibilities do doctors have when prescribing?
Doctors must ensure prescriptions are necessary, appropriate, and consider patient safety.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
