Meaning & use
discursive
Last updated
Moving from one topic to another in a rambling way, or relating to discourse and reasoned argument.
See it in a sentence
His discursive lecture wandered so far from the topic that students lost track of the point.
The professor's discursive style of writing mixes analysis with personal anecdotes.
A note on using this word
Can describe writing or speech either critically, as unfocused, or neutrally, as broadly exploratory.
Words with a similar meaning
ramblingdigressive
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
concisefocused
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “discursive”, then compare your use with the examples above.
Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.