allusive

Definition of allusivenext

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 allusive Yarvin tends to extreme digression, while Land speaks with the allusive compression of a guru. James Duesterberg, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026 David Bowie, charming in interviews, and leaning toward the abstract and allusive in his lyrics, was not given to weighing in on news events. Alexander Larman, Washington Post, 8 Jan. 2026 At times sparse and allusive, Moon’s poems use blank space and other stylistic considerations to convey a voice and thought that ranges from the contemplative to the surreal and absurd. Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025 The Lady From the Sea, one of Ibsen’s most mysterious and allusive plays, centers on the figure of Ellida, a lighthouse keeper’s daughter with a maritime obsession. Sarah Crompton, Vogue, 19 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for allusive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for allusive
Adjective
  • Why Willis did it, however, is very indicative of his overall growth into the franchise quarterback.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Challenger disaster By 1986 the Apollo program had been replaced by the space shuttle, a name indicative of how almost-routine space travel had become.
    Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • According to the announcement, the semi-acoustic record draws inspiration from reflective touchstones in Young’s catalog such as Comes a Time and Prairie Wind, with lyrics that grapple with memory, mortality and renewal.
    SPIN Staff, SPIN, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Caltrans has been slowly removing those 1960s-era signs with the letter studded with reflective dots and replacing them with newer ones.
    Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Semantic bleaching is another linguistic process whereby the denotative content of a word is stripped away.
    Brandon Tensley, CNN, 10 July 2022
  • 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
  • But the Jack-o’-Lantern’s telltale gills, or long, deep slits under the cap, will set you straight, since the chicken of the woods has pores underneath instead.
    Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Approaching the plant, there are no telltale dumb-bell silhouettes on the horizon signaling its presence.
    Ramy Inocencio, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Six of the seven individual plaintiffs were ultimately found responsible for violating FIU Regulation 110, which bans protests and other expressive activities inside university buildings.
    Ana Maria Soler, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The music on the new record is vivid in its storytelling and unapologetically emotional, lyrical and expressive.
    Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Although antineutrinos rarely interact with matter, physicists can identify them through a characteristic double-light signal that distinguishes them from background radiation.
    Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The facial fat pads that create fullness in the cheeks and temples sometimes shrink faster than skin can retract, producing a characteristic hollowing and laxity.
    Jesse Pines, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Kisunla is designed to help slow the progression of early symptomatic Alzheimer's by targeting the brain to break up and remove amyloid plaques, which are a hallmark of the disease.
    Lauren Pastrana, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The situation is also symptomatic of broader strains on the country's higher education system, where grossly limited spots leave millions cramming for months, or even years, and high-stakes entrance exams leave many of them burnt out and in debt.
    Sakshi Dayal, USA Today, 22 July 2026
Adjective
  • Dating back an astounding sixty-five years, MAD’s iconic sequential art is symbolic of today’s new cybersecurity battlefront.
    Will Townsend, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Right tackle Austin Jackson returned to practice after missing the previous two practices and tight end Greg Dulcich again wore a red jersey, symbolic of no contact.
    Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 7 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Allusive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/allusive. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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