Definition of excursivenext
as in rambling
passing from one topic to another an excursive story line that some readers of Melville's novel find very rewarding

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for excursive
Adjective
  • Routh then read from a rambling, 20-page statement.
    David Fischer, Sun Sentinel, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Also in the village, with lower prices, the June Lake Villager Motel is a rambling property beneath a vintage mid-century sign.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Because in realignment, where emotions are high and every president has a wandering eye, heft matters.
    Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
  • Like a lot of messy divorces, this started with a wandering eye, a lover scorned and boils down to the money.
    Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • While forming a global network of thinkers, the IPS has developed over the past five years to critically examine the material, discursive, and aesthetic scope of everything that might fall under the heading of postnatural.
    Catherine Taft, Artforum, 1 Feb. 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
Adjective
  • The latest threat was made one day after the United States and Iran concluded their first two rounds of indirect nuclear talks in Oman.
    David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 8 Feb. 2026
  • Winemaker Kristina Shideler explains that most of these vineyards sit within the inversion layer—meaning they are covered with fog in the early part of the day—which offer a cooling effect and indirect sunlight into mid-day.
    Mike DeSimone, Robb Report, 8 Feb. 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Excursive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excursive. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.

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