discursive

adjective

dis·​cur·​sive di-ˈskər-siv 

1

a

: moving from topic to topic without order : rambling

gave a discursive lecture

discursive prose

b

: proceeding coherently from topic to topic

2

philosophy : marked by a method of resolving complex expressions into simpler or more basic ones : marked by analytical reasoning

3

: of or relating to discourse

discursive practices

discursively adverb

discursiveness noun

Did you know?

The Latin verb discurrere meant "to run about", and from this word we get our word discursive, which often means rambling about over a wide range of topics. A discursive writing style generally isn't encouraged by writing teachers. But some of the great 19th-century writers, such as Charles Lamb and Thomas de Quincey, show that the discursive essay, especially when gracefully written and somewhat personal in tone, can be a pleasure to read. And the man often called the inventor of the essay, the great Michel de Montaigne, might touch on dozens of different topics in the course of a long discursive essay.

Synonyms

• rambling
• wandering
• excursive
• indirect
• digressive

Examples of discursive in a Sentence

the speaker's discursive style made it difficult to understand his point

Recent Examples on the Web

Written in the flush of a new friendship with co-producer, engineer, and musician Sam Weber, the album unspools a suite of folk miniatures riven with discursive melodies as evocative as the cultural ephemera dotted through the lyrics. —Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 29 Aug. 2025

Kate Zambreno’s Animal Stories, the newest installment in the publisher’s Undelivered Lectures series, relates Nabokov’s anecdote as part of a searching, charmingly discursive meditation on zoos. —Book Marks august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025

The story of Jussie Smollett had the effect of sucking one individual into a near-perfect storm of discursive tripwires. —Daniel D'addario, Variety, 20 Aug. 2025

American leaders and commentators often portrayed international adversaries in unflattering and discursive brushstrokes. —Time, 8 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin discursīvus "showing reasoned thought, logical," from discursus, past participle of discurrere "to range over, discuss" (going back to Latin, "to run off in different directions, [of a mind or speaker] branch out, range") + Latin -īvus -ive — more at discourse entry 1

First Known Use

1595, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Rhymes for discursive

• aversive
• coercive
• dispersive
• immersive
• recursive
• subversive
• cursive

Kids Definition

discursive

adjective

dis·​cur·​sive dis-ˈkər-siv 

: passing from one topic to another

a discursive speech

discursively adverb

discursiveness noun