as in referring
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Recent Examples of allusive
Ray Johnson, a master of the collage, made work that was cryptic, obsessive, and densely allusive.
—
Vince Aletti, The New Yorker, 22 July 2022
Their plots were complex, nested, allusive, the sort of TV that demanded activity and attention rather than passivity.
—Phillip MacIak, The New Republic, 24 Aug. 2023
Style often allowed a filmmaker to set a mood in an allusive way.
—Hazlitt, 9 Aug. 2023
Aside from the text on that bottle, O’Brien’s work is allusive and indirect.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 21 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for allusive
Vince Aletti, The New Yorker, 22 July 2022
Their plots were complex, nested, allusive, the sort of TV that demanded activity and attention rather than passivity.
—Phillip MacIak, The New Republic, 24 Aug. 2023
Style often allowed a filmmaker to set a mood in an allusive way.
—Hazlitt, 9 Aug. 2023
Aside from the text on that bottle, O’Brien’s work is allusive and indirect.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 21 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for allusive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for allusive
Adjective
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Hertha is covered by dark rocks that were shock-blackened, indicative of an unusually violent collision.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
19 Mar. 2025
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Their presence is indicative of a healthy, functioning ecosystem—a balance increasingly disrupted by anthropogenic pressures.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Stock performance is not reflective of the value of an economy on an absolute level, said TradeStation’s Russell.—
John Towfighi,
CNN,
21 Mar. 2025
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William, 42, sported the camouflage fatigues reflective of his role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Merican Regiment, an Army unit involved there, to hear about how the soldiers are securing NATO's eastern flank as part of Operation Cabrit.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Semantic bleaching is another linguistic process whereby the denotative content of a word is stripped away.—
Brandon Tensley,
CNN,
10 July 2022
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The paragon of such an attempt is something like Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror, a work that stands as a denotative record of the social media shift, yet still falls to the same difficulties that characterize other cultural criticism of this type.—
SPIN,
SPIN,
8 Feb. 2022
Adjective
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In the United States, permission from the subject of a story is typically not required to create expressive works.—
Legal Entertainment,
Forbes,
13 Mar. 2025
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Fashionably oversized trousers don’t have to be neutral, but instead abstract-printed or in strange muted tones, and super skinny ones buck the (better) trend of the former because good taste bows to expressive statement, here.—
Julian Randall,
Essence,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Those characteristic Starfleet nacelles are kept well away from the ship to protect the crew from an unwanted warping.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
14 Mar. 2025
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The cell’s attempt to repair this damage can result in a characteristic pattern of mutations – such as the signature being sought here – which serves as a molecular record indicating past haloalkane exposure.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Someone can spread measles four days before, through four days after, a symptomatic rash develops.—
Youri Benadjaoud,
ABC News,
5 Mar. 2025
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This haphazard nihilism is symptomatic of Musk’s approach with the de-facto Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE): destroy first, ask questions later.—
Stephen Collinson,
CNN,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In Baraka’s play, the setting of the underground train was seen as symbolic for America perpetually traveling the same course.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
8 Mar. 2025
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And Hutson not wanting to go on the ice by himself was symbolic of that timing, and why it was timed that way.—
Arpon Basu,
The Athletic,
8 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Allusive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/allusive. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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