Synonyms of rambling

rambling 1 of 3

adjective

ˈram-b(ə-)liŋ 

1

as in wandering

passing from one topic to another

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wandering
• excursive
• indirect
• digressive
• discursive
• leaping
• meandering
• roundabout
• desultory
• maundering
• digressional
• digressionary
• circuitous
• deviating
• devious

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• consistent
• logical
• coherent
• direct
• focused
• straightforward
• focussed
• undeviating

2

as in talkative

using or containing more words than necessary to express an idea

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• talkative
• exaggerated
• wordy
• prolix
• verbose
• long-winded
• conversational
• redundant
• circuitous
• communicative
• diffuse
• garrulous
• pleonastic
• circumlocutory
• windy
• logorrheic
• loquacious
• talky
• repetitious
• chatty
• voluble
• tautological
• periphrastic
• gabby
• bombastic
• tautologous
• gaseous
• grandiloquent
• embroidered
• gassy
• embellished
• hifalutin
• highfalutin

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• pithy
• concise
• succinct
• short
• brief
• terse
• compact
• crisp
• summary
• sententious
• epigrammatic
• aphoristic
• compendious
• abbreviated
• condensed
• blunt
• laconic
• abridged
• curt
• abrupt
• brusque
• shortened
• snippy
• brusk

rambling

2 of 3

verb

present participle of ramble

1

as in rattling

to talk at length without sticking to a topic or getting to a point

the teenagers sat around the pizza parlor, rambling on about dating, homework, movies, and the local football team

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rattling
• wandering
• maundering
• going on
• blathering (on)
• digressing
• running on
• chatting
• straying
• deviating
• running one's mouth
• blabbering
• sidetracking
• drivelling
• waffling
• blithering
• prattling
• blabbing
• chattering
• burbling
• jabbering
• gibbering
• prating
• gabbling
• gabbing
• drooling
• driveling
• pattering
• bumbling

2

as in roaming

to move about from place to place aimlessly

by tirelessly rambling around San Francisco for a week we probably saw more of it than many residents ever have

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wandering
• roaming
• drifting
• meandering
• strolling
• cruising
• floating
• ranging
• knocking (about)
• roving
• gallivanting
• traipsing
• galavanting
• gadding (about)
• maundering
• batting
• sauntering
• ambling
• mooching
• kicking around
• dawdling
• moping
• straggling
• straying
• milling (about or around)
• tramping
• vagabonding
• gypsying
• hoboing

3

as in strolling

to travel by foot for exercise or pleasure

we're planning to ramble all over the highland moors when we're in Dartmoor

Synonyms & Similar Words

• strolling
• wandering
• walking
• hiking
• sauntering
• ambling
• roaming
• tramping
• perambulating
• roving
• traversing
• marching
• trekking
• traipsing
• tromping
• promenading
• peregrinating
• power walking

rambling

3 of 3

noun

1

as in babbling

Related Words

• babbling
• drivelling
• babble
• prattle
• prattling
• maundering
• jabbering
• gabbling
• chattering
• gabble
• jabber
• chatter
• blabbing
• driveling
• blab
• drivel
• whisper
• rumor
• muttering
• murmuring
• mumble
• undertone
• mutter
• grunting
• murmur
• grunt

2

as in prolixity

Related Words

• prolixity
• wordiness
• verbosity
• digression
• tangent
• circularity
• diffuseness
• aside
• circumlocution
• windiness
• excursion
• excursus
• parenthesis
• circuitousness
• divagation

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of rambling

Verb

The final part is a rather rambling segment philosophizing on proof of the afterlife—in line with dozens of similar texts from this era of psychical research. —Alice Vernon september 8, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025

The videos, which depict handwritten journals and a display of high-powered weaponry, paint a portrait of a person with a rambling and deeply nihilistic outlook, according to analyses by law enforcement and ABC News. —Megan Forrester, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2025

There’s nothing worse than a long, rambling story that’s resolved in an only-mildly humorous ending. —Jay Sullivan, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025

The rambling rocks appear to travel across the sand on their own, leaving clear dirt trails in their wake. —Andrew Paul Aug 14, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2025

There were also quirks unique to AI—such as getting derailed by ASCII art or lapsing into philosophical rambling during long tasks. —Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 12 Aug. 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

Noun

What on Earth was Gabriel rambling on about before, anyway? —Jessica Wang, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2025

Roger Naylor shares 10 favorite Arizona destinations from his 50 years of rambling here. —Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 29 Aug. 2025

As Minneapolis reels from the shooting, officials are combing through Westman’s rambling writings – which the shooter shared in YouTube videos timed to go online around the same time as the attack – to search for a motive. —Allison Gordon, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025

Trump has long bragged about his cognitive ability, repeatedly offering to take a cognitive exam alongside Biden during the 2024 campaign, and has claimed his rambling is a purposeful speaking style. —Sara Dorn, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025