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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 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 His palette is light, smudgy guitar textures and warm synths; his message, more gestural than discursive, is love and lust. — Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for discursive

Recent Examples of Synonyms for discursive

Adjective

On the latest episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart took aim at Donald Trump‘s rambling speech during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

— Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 28 July 2026
People process, remember, and act on information more easily when it’s organized into three buckets instead of an unstructured, rambling, and confusing stream of ideas.

— Carmine Gallo, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

Definition of rambling

Adjective

The key question is how, exactly, these wandering giants got so far from their galactic centers.

— Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 29 July 2026
Some digging around Amazon led me to the Hollywood Fashion Secrets Bra Converting Clip, which has singlehandedly solved my wandering-strap woes.

— Sophie Wirt, InStyle, 9 July 2026

Definition of wandering

Adjective

Measures, such as the awarding of an indirect free-kick if a player deliberately heads the ball, were introduced in order to discourage children from heading.

— Leon Imber, New York Times, 26 July 2026
The return is indirect and the case is harder to make, but skimping here is what causes horizon-one wins to plateau and horizon-three ambitions to collapse.

— Farooque Munshi, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Definition of indirect

Adjective

In return for her weird, digressive, and highly mannered manuscript, Lemann received a kill fee.

— Brandy Jensen, New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2026
Like all Kashian’s work, Alter-Kashian is densely packed, and her breakneck, digressive style doesn’t leave much room to come up for air.

— Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 30 Mar. 2026

Definition of digressive

Browse Nearby Words

discriminatory

discursive

discuss

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Discursive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discursive. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of discursive

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on discursive

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

colloquial

Popular in Grammar & Usage

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Games & Quizzes