as in rambling
passing from one topic to another
the speaker's discursive style made it difficult to understand his point
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Recent Examples of discursive
As a result, the book has a discursive feel but is also very personal.
—
John Baldoni, Forbes.com, 5 July 2025
All this becomes a bit discursive, and frankly, dull — almost like a coastal Carlos Saura family portrait without the politics and without the clean lines and character definition to make the sprawl of relatives especially interesting.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
And it’s also arrived at a particular moment, in a particular discursive world, in which opinions are strong, objections are instant, and differences are emphasized.
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 27 May 2025
Set entirely in Linda’s Manhattan apartment, the film freely and imaginatively recreates that long-ago afternoon and the wonderfully discursive exchange between these two singular individuals.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discursive
John Baldoni, Forbes.com, 5 July 2025
All this becomes a bit discursive, and frankly, dull — almost like a coastal Carlos Saura family portrait without the politics and without the clean lines and character definition to make the sprawl of relatives especially interesting.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
And it’s also arrived at a particular moment, in a particular discursive world, in which opinions are strong, objections are instant, and differences are emphasized.
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 27 May 2025
Set entirely in Linda’s Manhattan apartment, the film freely and imaginatively recreates that long-ago afternoon and the wonderfully discursive exchange between these two singular individuals.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discursive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discursive
Adjective
-
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
Adjective
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In today’s opinions newsletter: Keeping the A/C on, the Cardinals’ playoff prospects and lessons from a wandering wolf.—
Joanna Allhands,
AZCentral.com,
11 Aug. 2025
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However, Loeb and his colleagues have continued to advocate its potential alien origin and have proposed missions to track down the wandering space rock.—
Harry Baker,
Space.com,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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The government backed this vision with enormous financial support, spending one to two percent of GDP each year on direct and indirect subsidies, cheap credit, and tax breaks.—
DAN WANG,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
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While Erin itself is staying offshore, the indirect effects serve as a reminder of how powerful hurricanes can be, even from hundreds of miles away.—
Amanda Castro
Hannah Parry
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The path to achieving this goal was already a digressive one, weaving together singing competitions, cloned dogs and a bald-capped Fielder breastfeeding from a giant puppet.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
26 May 2025
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The tabloid reader commuting home on the No. 4 train was given the same all-access pass to his protean intellect and lyrical, digressive sentences as the Park Avenue neighbor of William F. Buckley’s reading him, fireside, in the more rarefied outlets.—
Ginia Bellafante,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Discursive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discursive. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025.
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