rambling

adjective

ram·​bling ˈram-b(ə-)liŋ 

1

: proceeding without a specific goal, purpose, or direction: such as

a

: wandering about from one place to another

a rambling walk

b

: straying from subject to subject

a rambling essay/discussion/discourse

a rambling talker

His text is at times repetitious and rambling.

—Robert Howard

c

: stretching, spreading, or growing in a winding or irregular way

a rambling stream

rambling roses

2

: large and informally designed

a rambling farmhouse

… blue-tinged shots give the sinister prison … the air of a rambling edifice out of Dickens.

—Celia Wren

ramblingly adverb

a ramblingly told story

Synonyms

• desultory
• digressional
• digressionary
• digressive
• discursive
• excursive
• leaping
• maundering
• meandering
• wandering

Examples of rambling in a Sentence

I listened patiently to Mrs. Parsifal's rambling reminiscences, though I had no idea who "Dorothy" and "the stepson" were

the new minister gives rambling sermons that, if they have a point, are lost on the congregation, which invariably falls asleep

Recent Examples on the Web

Refine your key points to be clear and concise—no rambling monologues. —Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025

In the early morning hours of Dec. 26, 1996, Patsy Ramsey called 911 to report her 6-year-old daughter JonBenét missing, and found a rambling ransom note left inside their Boulder, Colorado, home. —Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 20 Dec. 2024

His statement came a day after the release of the Netflix series, which takes viewers back to the morning after Christmas 28 years ago, when JonBenét’s mother called 911 to report finding a rambling ransom note and her daughter missing. —Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News, 3 Dec. 2024

There is more than 178 feet of beach and ocean frontage, which can be accessed via a rambling wooden staircase. —Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2024

Some, of course, will find this style of writing off-putting and too rambling or the prose verging on purple, the narrative perhaps not story-driven enough. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024

Trump, who has faced ridicule from Democrats and other critics for his rambling rallies, accused Micklethwait of jumping back and forth between topics. —Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2024

The Harris campaign, her allies, and Trump’s enemies have sought to capitalize on the age concerns by incessantly highlighting Trump’s rambling and bizarre tangents in his speeches, factual errors and nonsensical answers to questions from reporters and voters. —Sara Dorn, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024

The big picture: Trump took Harris' bait throughout the evening, often making rambling statements or unleashing personal attacks that are unlikely to appeal to moderate voters. —Rebecca Falconer, Axios, 11 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1