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
McPherson’s discursive humanism exactly suits both O’Reilly’s light directorial touch and the confident realism of his company of (largely) Irish actors.
—
Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 11 July 2025
Set entirely in Linda’s Manhattan apartment, the film recreates that afternoon and the discursive exchange between the two.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 9 July 2025
Yet in Indiana, those old-school, discursive classes are over-represented on the crudest of chopping blocks.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 7 July 2025
As a result, the book has a discursive feel but is also very personal.
—John Baldoni, Forbes.com, 5 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for discursive
Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 11 July 2025
Set entirely in Linda’s Manhattan apartment, the film recreates that afternoon and the discursive exchange between the two.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 9 July 2025
Yet in Indiana, those old-school, discursive classes are over-represented on the crudest of chopping blocks.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 7 July 2025
As a result, the book has a discursive feel but is also very personal.
—John Baldoni, Forbes.com, 5 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for discursive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discursive
Adjective
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Kiehne was frustrated with the Joneses because the county government wouldn’t grade the dirt road up to his ranch, a rambling territory along the New Mexico border.—
Mitch Moxley,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
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Check out the fragrant Kelleher Rose Garden and the rambling Fenway Victory Gardens, originally planted by citizens in 1941 as a source of food during World War II.—
Kori Perten,
AFAR Media,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Evening light spills across the pollinator gardens—alive with bees, hummingbirds, and the occasional wandering chicken—before dissolving into the shimmer of the Mackinac Bridge.—
Christine Chitnis,
Vogue,
24 Sep. 2025
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In tandem with our wandering, deeper and deeper goes our conversation.—
Paul Greenberg,
Time,
20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Some indirect impacts, such as dangerous waves and currents, are expected.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
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Direct and indirect stock holdings, including in mutual funds or retirement plans, accounted for an all-time high of 45% of households’ financial assets in the second quarter, according to Federal Reserve data.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
28 Sep. 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 2 Oct. 2025.
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