ramble 1 of 5

ramble

2 of 5

verb (1)

1
as in to rattle
to talk at length without sticking to a topic or getting to a point the teenagers sat around the pizza parlor, rambling on about dating, homework, movies, and the local football team

Synonyms & Similar Words

2
3
as in to stroll
to travel by foot for exercise or pleasure we're planning to ramble all over the highland moors when we're in Dartmoor

Synonyms & Similar Words

rambling

3 of 5

adjective

rambling

4 of 5

verb (2)

present participle of ramble

rambling

5 of 5

noun (2)

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 rambling
Verb
Anyway, perhaps your husband could be encouraged, persuaded, gently directed, to trim his rambles—to self-edit. James Parker, The Atlantic, 6 May 2025 Take a ramble through the colorful Cretan port town of Chania in November, and blue skies are almost guaranteed. Helen Iatrou, AFAR Media, 9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
The Hacienda is a rambling villa on the outskirts of town, with arched walkways, shady courtyards, and adobe walls painted a rich annatto yellow. Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 28 July 2025 Get Straight To The Point Don’t waste time rambling with a lengthy introduction. Rachel Wells, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025
Verb
Some, of course, will find this style of writing off-putting and too rambling or the prose verging on purple, the narrative perhaps not story-driven enough. Erik Kain, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024 Trump, who has faced ridicule from Democrats and other critics for his rambling rallies, accused Micklethwait of jumping back and forth between topics. Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for rambling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rambling
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
  • The way the car flows down twisty roads is simply serene due to its talkative and responsive electrohydraulic steering, wonderful chassis communication, minimal body roll, and excellent grip.
    Peter Nelson, ArsTechnica, 1 Aug. 2025
  • Since October, Jackson spoke 50% more words on the bench than Sotomayor who was the next talkative, according to statistics compiled by Adam Feldman and Jake S. Truscott for the Empirical SCOTUS blog.
    Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 6 July 2025
Adjective
  • In the photoshoot, Kelce presents a stereotypical (and exaggerated) embodiment of masculinity — he is dressed in full fur, construction vests and wrangles alligators.
    Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 16 Aug. 2025
  • According to the story, the tow truck driver’s removal of an ICE SUV was just a routine removal and the story of a bunch of ICE vans being stalked by tow trucks was exaggerated.
    Peter Lyon, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Google’s new Pixel 10 ad, that takes an indirect shot at Apple’s Siri problems, gives us an insight into how the upcoming smartphone battle will unfold.
    Janhoi McGregor, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
  • First, the American government was central to the course of revolution, although in indirect ways.
    Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • For example, the AI maker might tell the AI to always respond succinctly and not be overly wordy.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
  • Davis is a magnetic front man, and the Roadhouse Band is an intoxicatingly raucous live outfit, but the constraints of the setup suited his new material, which is suffused with listlessness and yearning, dark jokes and wordy disquisitions on desire.
    Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
Adjective
  • Words, including those of artists themselves—as prolix in their way as critics, curators, and historians—can serve vision but can also deflect from it.
    Barry Schwabsky, ARTnews.com, 3 Sep. 2019
  • In 1949, a young American artist named Ray Johnson left Black Mountain College near Asheville, N.C., moved to New York City and began to explore his prolix talents, both visual and verbal.
    Roberta Smith, New York Times, 30 May 2024
Adjective
  • The lawmaker said that the usable speech only came after four or five prompts that generated unusable material, either too verbose or oddly phrased, an illustration of how important the input into the AI is to the result.
    Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Jan. 2023
  • The verbose coach was at somewhat of a loss for words, opting to forgo opening remarks in his postgame press conference and instead diving right into questions.
    Tom Green | tgreen@al.com, al, 18 Jan. 2023
Adjective
  • Decision-makers don’t have time to waste, and making your message long-winded decreases the likelihood of them even bothering to read it.
    Rachel Wells, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
  • All of this is a vaguely long-winded way of making a simple point — the outlook for Wolves’ defence has changed dramatically over the course of this season.
    Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 14 Mar. 2025

Cite this Entry

“Rambling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rambling. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

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