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
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.
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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
Shared Collections Maps, Power, and Identity The Ancient East Asian Maps Collection at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology demonstrates the power held and discursive work done by mapmakers.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for 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
Shared Collections Maps, Power, and Identity The Ancient East Asian Maps Collection at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology demonstrates the power held and discursive work done by mapmakers.
—JSTOR Daily, 24 June 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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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
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The wandering nerve was apparent to the first anatomists, notably Galen, the Greek polymath who lived until around the year 216.R Douglas Fields, WIRED, 29 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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The deal comes after weeks of a number of intensive rounds of indirect negotiations in the Qatari capital Doha between Israel and Hamas, mediated by facilitators from U.S., Egypt and Qatar.Michele Kelemen, NPR, 15 Jan. 2025
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This occurs when a high percentage of people in a community have developed immunity, ensuring that future outbreaks affect fewer individuals and are quickly contained. Humans, of course, are not the only species that benefits from the direct and indirect protections of vaccines.Simon F. Haeder, The Conversation, 14 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The novel is detailed, digressive, densely populated, dull at times (as life is) and capable of tracking the most minute shifts in emotional weather.Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
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The show’s tone frequently changes to match the runaway plot, whose digressive subplots involve time travel, a mad scientist and his jealous nephew, and Baek-joong’s food critic ex-girlfriend (played by the celebrity fashion model Jung Ho-yeon).Simon Abrams, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near discursive
Cite this Entry
“Discursive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discursive. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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