| Main Entry: | discursive |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | rambling |
Synonyms: |
deviating, digressive, erratic, excursive, long-winded, meandering, prolix, roaming, roving, spreading, wandering |
| Main Entry: | complex |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult to understand |
Synonyms: |
Byzantine, Daedalean, Gordian, abstruse, bewildering, circuitous, complicated, confused, convoluted, crabbed, cryptic, discursive, disordered, disturbing, enigmatic, entangled, excursive, hidden, impenetrable, inscrutable, interwoven, intricate, involved, jumbled, knotted, knotty, labyrinthine, mazy, meandering, mingled, mixed, muddled, obscure, paradoxical, perplexing, puzzling, rambling, recondite, round-about, sinuous, snarled, sophisticated, tangled, tortuous, undecipherable, unfathomable, winding |
| Notes: | something complex may be well-organized and logically constructed as well as subtle and intricate, while a thing that is complicated will have something irregular, perverse, asymmetrical in addition to fundamental intricacy; complex is more formal and technical (a problem in mathematics is complex) while something like personal life can be complicated |
Antonyms: |
apparent, clear, direct, discernible, easy, evident, obvious, plain |
| Main Entry: | comprehensive |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | inclusive |
Synonyms: |
absolute, across the board, all-embracing, all-inclusive, blanket, broad, catholic, compendious, complete, comprising, containing, discursive, encircling, encyclopedic, exhaustive, expansive, extensive, far-reaching, full, general, global, in depth, infinite, lock stock and barrel, of great scope, overall, sweeping, synoptic, the big picture, the whole shebang, the works, thorough, umbrella, wall-to-wall, whole, wide, widespread |
Antonyms: |
exclusive, incomprehensive, particular, selective, specific |
| Main Entry: | diffuse |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | wordy |
Synonyms: |
circumlocutory, copious, diffusive, digressive, discursive, dull, exuberant, lavish, lengthy, long, long-winded, loose, meandering, palaverous, profuse, prolix, rambling, random, redundant, vague, verbose, waffling, windy |
Antonyms: |
abbreviated, abridged, brief, short, succinct |
| Main Entry: | encyclopedic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | comprehensive |
Synonyms: |
all-embracing, all-encompassing, all-inclusive, broad, catholic, complete, discursive, exhaustive, extensive, general, thorough, thorough-going, universal, vast, wide-ranging, widespread |
Antonyms: |
brief, incomplete, summary, uncomprehensive |
| Main Entry: | episodic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | intermittent; composed of several tales |
Synonyms: |
anecdotal, digressive, disconnected, discursive, disjointed, incidental, irregular, occasional, picaresque, rambling, roundabout, segmented, soap opera, sporadic, wandering |
Antonyms: |
connected, lasting, permanent, regular, unbroken |
| Main Entry: | explanatory |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | descriptive |
Synonyms: |
allegorical, analytical, annotative, critical, declarative, demonstrative, diagrammatic, discursive, elucidatory, enlightening, exegetic, exegetical, explicative, expositional, expository, graphic, guiding, hermeneutic, illuminative, illustrative, informative, informing, instructive, interpretive, justifying, summary, supplementary |
Antonyms: |
confusing, mysterious, obscure, perplexing, puzzling, vague |
| Main Entry: | indirect |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | roundabout; unintended |
Synonyms: |
ambiguous, ancillary, circuitous, circular, circumlocutory, collateral, complicated, contingent, crooked, devious, discursive, duplicitous, erratic, eventual, implied, incidental, long, long way home, long-drawn-out, long-winded, meandering, oblique, obscure, out-of-the-way, periphrastic, rambling, secondary, serpentine, sidelong, sinister, sinuous, snaking, sneaking, sneaky, subsidiary, tortuous, twisting, underhand, vagrant, wandering, winding, zigzag |
Antonyms: |
direct, straight, straightforward |
| Main Entry: | rambling |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | disconnected, wordy |
Synonyms: |
circuitous, confused, desultory, diffuse, digressive, discursive, disjointed, incoherent, incongruous, irregular, long-winded, periphrastic, prolix |
Antonyms: |
connected, direct, straightforward |
| Main Entry: | roundabout |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | indirect |
Synonyms: |
ambiguous, circuitous, circular, circumlocutory, collateral, deviating, devious, discursive, evasive, meandering, oblique, obliquitous, periphrastic, taking the long way, tortuous |
Antonyms: |
direct, honest, straightforward |