discursive

adjective

di-ˈskər-siv How to pronounce discursive (audio)
Definition of discursivenext
as in rambling
passing from one topic to another the speaker's discursive style made it difficult to understand his point

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 discursive The temporary and discursive structure allowed global visibility without institutional permanence. — Daniel Birnbaum, Artforum, 2 Apr. 2026 Real Man Adventures isn’t broken up into chapter-length sections of narrative, but rather brief, discursive essays. — Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026 The instructional promise of each episode was a bit, a starting point for discursive, funny, intermittently personal mini-essays that always started in Wilson’s beloved New York, but could and did make their way anywhere. — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2026 Knowledge itself can be both logical and discursive. — Bruce Schneier, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for discursive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discursive
  1. rambling
  2. wandering
  3. indirect
  4. digressive
Adjective
  • After the event was disrupted by an armed intruder, the Administration and the association scheduled a July do-over, where Trump delivered a rambling speech indulging seemingly every tangent that sprang to mind, but his contempt remained apparent.
    — Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The rambling result is friendly and approachable—a one-level house with plenty of room for entertaining guests, as well as thoughtful steal-away spaces for catching your breath.
    — Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of rambling
Adjective
  • Johnny JeanBaptiste, 36, and Stacia McMillian, 32, were charged with one count of child neglect without great bodily harm after deputies responded to the report of the wandering toddler, officials said.
    — Felix Rodriguez, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Cleveland also presumed rightly that Kiffin’s professional wandering eye meant the pairing was destined for a bad ending.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of wandering
Adjective
  • The meeting came as indirect talks between Washington and Tehran have yet to yield meaningful progress.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The war in Yemen, which began in March 2015, had killed 377,000 people by the end of 2021, including those killed by direct and indirect causes, according to the United Nations.
    — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of indirect
Adjective
  • In other words, the course of this project is insistently digressive.
    — Artforum, Artforum, 28 Sep. 2026
  • As Port falls in with a group of conspirators preparing for the insurrection, the book takes on a hallucinatory, digressive quality, blurring the lines between life and death, reality and illusion.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of digressive

Browse Nearby Words

discriminatory
discursive
discuss
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Discursive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discursive. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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