DISCURSIVE Synonyms: 23 Similar and Opposite Words

discursive

adjective

di-ˈskər-siv

Definition of discursive

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

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 discursive The temporary and discursive structure allowed global visibility without institutional permanence. — Daniel Birnbaum, Artforum, 2 Apr. 2026 Real Man Adventures isn’t broken up into chapter-length sections of narrative, but rather brief, discursive essays. — Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for discursive

Recent Examples of Synonyms for discursive

Adjective

After the event was disrupted by an armed intruder, the Administration and the association scheduled a July do-over, where Trump delivered a rambling speech indulging seemingly every tangent that sprang to mind, but his contempt remained apparent.

— Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2026
The rambling result is friendly and approachable—a one-level house with plenty of room for entertaining guests, as well as thoughtful steal-away spaces for catching your breath.

— Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of rambling

Adjective

Despite this informal, jam-forward approach, however, Silk Fence appear to be chasing something; an understated but steady coherence gives direction to even their most wandering moments.

— Reed Jackson, SPIN, 6 Oct. 2026
Johnny JeanBaptiste, 36, and Stacia McMillian, 32, were charged with one count of child neglect without great bodily harm after deputies responded to the report of the wandering toddler, officials said.

— Felix Rodriguez, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of wandering

Adjective

This contestation takes place through philosophical debates, religious disputations, and public discussions, whether direct or indirect, open or clandestine.

— Mansoor Moaddel, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026
Since Yemen descended into war in 2015, the United Nations estimates that some 377,000 people have died, more than half due to indirect causes such as starvation and disease amid the fighting.

— Dov Lieber, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of indirect

Adjective

In other words, the course of this project is insistently digressive.

— Artforum, Artforum, 28 Sep. 2026
As Port falls in with a group of conspirators preparing for the insurrection, the book takes on a hallucinatory, digressive quality, blurring the lines between life and death, reality and illusion.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of digressive

Browse Nearby Words

discriminatory

discursive

discuss

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“Discursive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discursive. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of discursive

adjective

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