Definition of excursivenext
as in rambling
passing from one topic to another an excursive story line that some readers of Melville's novel find very rewarding

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for excursive
Adjective
  • Routh then read from a rambling, 20-page statement.
    David Fischer, Sun Sentinel, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Also in the village, with lower prices, the June Lake Villager Motel is a rambling property beneath a vintage mid-century sign.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Like a lot of messy divorces, this started with a wandering eye, a lover scorned and boils down to the money.
    Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 21 Jan. 2026
  • After spending a few days, a wandering light leads them to the next world.
    Leo Barraclough, Variety, 15 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • 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
Adjective
  • Their clean collisions would allow more precise measurements of scattering amplitudes, making the FCC ultrasensitive to indirect signs of new physics.
    Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Unemployment, in an indirect way, is another.
    Matt Richardson, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Excursive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excursive. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.

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