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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of discursive
Although Pinker writes as a scientist, his approach in this book is discursive rather than deductive, charmingly but not quite persuasively advancing his ex cathedra views about life in general.
—
Timothy Snyder, Foreign Affairs, 18 Dec. 2011
Morrissey’s films, in contrast, contained more character and narrative (not to mention camera movement), though his films were still out there — with the dialogue often improvised and the stories strange and discursive.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2024
His debate performance was widely criticized, even among Republican allies, who lauded Harris for landing several key insults and baiting Trump into delivering several angry, discursive rants.
—Faith E. Pinho, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2024
That said, Beatty’s portrayal of the harried, discursive, libidinous George is irresistible even without context, as is the performance given by a young Goldie Hawn, who illuminates every frame—and perfectly counteracts Beatty—with blonde California light, and a heart-melting, downy innocence.
—Vogue, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for discursive 
Timothy Snyder, Foreign Affairs, 18 Dec. 2011
Morrissey’s films, in contrast, contained more character and narrative (not to mention camera movement), though his films were still out there — with the dialogue often improvised and the stories strange and discursive.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2024
His debate performance was widely criticized, even among Republican allies, who lauded Harris for landing several key insults and baiting Trump into delivering several angry, discursive rants.
—Faith E. Pinho, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2024
That said, Beatty’s portrayal of the harried, discursive, libidinous George is irresistible even without context, as is the performance given by a young Goldie Hawn, who illuminates every frame—and perfectly counteracts Beatty—with blonde California light, and a heart-melting, downy innocence.
—Vogue, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for discursive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discursive
Adjective
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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
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His statement came a day after the release of the Netflix series, which takes viewers back to the morning after Christmas 28 years ago, when JonBenét’s mother called 911 to report finding a rambling ransom note and her daughter missing.—
Elizabeth Chuck,
NBC News,
3 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The open spaces all around us invite Angelenos to ditch the concrete grid for the wandering switchbacks.—
Andrew Moseman,
The Atlantic,
15 Jan. 2025
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One thing Sacco is not concerned about with Frederic is a wandering focus because of his contract situation.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
30 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In November, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership estimated the storm’s direct and indirect economic effects across the southwest Virginia region cost more than $2 billion.—
Mabinty Quarshie,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
27 Jan. 2025
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The company says the program supports more than 43,000 direct and indirect jobs and $8.9 billion in annual economic impact in Texas.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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In the pugilistic, digressive arena of a YouTube debate, advocates for the right are just more experienced at getting their point across.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2025
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Famously, his digressive speeches require deep immersion in right-wing lore to comprehend.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near discursive
Cite this Entry
“Discursive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discursive. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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