allusive

Definition of allusivenext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of allusive Yarvin tends to extreme digression, while Land speaks with the allusive compression of a guru. James Duesterberg, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026 David Bowie, charming in interviews, and leaning toward the abstract and allusive in his lyrics, was not given to weighing in on news events. Alexander Larman, Washington Post, 8 Jan. 2026 At times sparse and allusive, Moon’s poems use blank space and other stylistic considerations to convey a voice and thought that ranges from the contemplative to the surreal and absurd. Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025 The Lady From the Sea, one of Ibsen’s most mysterious and allusive plays, centers on the figure of Ellida, a lighthouse keeper’s daughter with a maritime obsession. Sarah Crompton, Vogue, 19 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for allusive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for allusive
Adjective
  • If the trailer is in any way indicative of the final series, the humor just feels off and really misplaced.
    Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Officials said the findings were indicative of failing septic systems creating runoff into the surface waters.
    Christin Lazerus, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Tycho Crater is visible in the lower region of the lunar disk close to the shadow, while bright ejecta rays of reflective material brighten the darker lunar seas, where lava solidified to form basaltic plains billions of years ago.
    Anthony Wood, Space.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Exhilarating, sublime, and unsettling, these installations—which often incorporate polka-dot balloons, pumpkins, LED lights, and soundtracks—immerse the viewer in infinite reflective surfaces, exploding even small spaces into an endless expanse.
    Livia Caligor, Architectural Digest, 27 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Semantic bleaching is another linguistic process whereby the denotative content of a word is stripped away.
    Brandon Tensley, CNN, 10 July 2022
  • The paragon of such an attempt is something like Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror, a work that stands as a denotative record of the social media shift, yet still falls to the same difficulties that characterize other cultural criticism of this type.
    SPIN, SPIN, 8 Feb. 2022
Adjective
  • The page will surely contain clues—maybe the subject matter points to a particular shelf, or the author uses telltale turns of phrase—but sometimes a match can’t be found.
    Jason Liebowitz, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The groups found that many of the users dubbed orcas often showed telltale signs of insider trading and identified 152 such accounts betting on military and geopolitical events.
    Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 21 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • This means, after the messenger planet’s bold and expressive journey through Leo, the focus moves away from creative and dramatic declarations (Leo) to a desire for productivity and grounding in the realm of communication.
    Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Plus, Deep Rooted is versatile enough to pair with soft neutrals, expressive blues, and calming greens.
    Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 25 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • While cognitive decline is far more common among individuals over 65 years, some genetic mutations cause the same characteristic loss of memory and mental processing in children.
    Mike McRae August 26, New Atlas, 26 Aug. 2026
  • But the link was far less clear between dementia and lower stages of CTE, or even those whose brains had been found to be free of the disease's characteristic buildups of tau protein.
    Becky Sullivan, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • The underlying pathology begins years before symptoms become apparent, and once symptomatic disease develops, cognitive problems generally continue to progress.
    Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The state and an outside software contractor are at odds about who was at fault, but the lapse is symptomatic of a system under pressure.
    Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Nominal damages are a small symbolic sum of money awarded when a legal right is violated.
    Jack Harvel August 26, Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Cadet will work with architect Rodney Leon, who is also of Haitian descent, and who will advise on the interpretive writing and symbolic elements of the statue and its lighting and siting.
    Adam Harrington, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Allusive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/allusive. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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