Abstract: For Russell,description is different from proper name in that it does not refer directly to an object.Stawson does not think that the difference between descriptions and proper names is as bigger as Russell thought.At the same time,Strawson has overlooked the attributive use of description in the process of concentrating his attention to the referential use of description.The biggest difference between Donnellan and Russell or Strawson is that the former maintains to judge the functions of description according to the context in which they are put in use.Furthermore,both Russell and Strawson hold that if the object denoted by a description does not exist,the sentence including the description would be meaningless.For Donnellan,such a kind of view may be appropriate to the attributive use of description,but as far as the referential use of description is concerned,it is completely wrong.When a speaker regards a description as the means to refer the given object,he can make his listener to understand what object he is referring,even when the description does not describe the object rightly.In one word,Donnellan has carried out the principle of context more consistently than Strawson.

Key words: Russell, Strawson, Donnellan, descriptions, reference；context