meandering

[mee-an-der-ing]

adjective

1. taking a winding or indirect course.

   The city of Budapest is divided into two parts by the meandering Danube River, spanned by several stunning bridges.

2. wandering aimlessly; proceeding seemingly without direction; rambling.

   I'm unsure how I will condense a meandering narrative of my experiences into a thirty-second elevator pitch.

   Things proceed in a meandering way between them, until suddenly their relationship comes to a devastatingly emotional climax.

noun

1. the act of wandering or proceeding aimlessly or by a winding or indirect course.

   I digress—but I blame it on the mental meandering of age.

   After a coffee and some meandering among the displays on the hotel mezzanine, I left the convention.

Other Word Forms

• meanderingly adverb
• unmeandering adjective
• unmeanderingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of meandering¹

First recorded in 1610–20; meander ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; meander ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun sense

Example Sentences

It’s artfully constructed, the kind of meandering where everything has a purpose.

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But for the audience, those sentiments more accurately reflect Ramsay’s film, a slow burn that exhausts its welcome and dies in a blaze after losing its grip on a meandering narrative.

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And as I stroll along the promenade on a chilly autumn morning I'm aware of the dozens of other people also meandering in their own world, each with their own special link to this place.

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They say that global warming is making these currents increasingly "wavier", which means it's meandering and not following a steady path.

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Jasmine Joyce-Butchers injected some much needed fire into Welsh bellies with a meandering 40m break, but Scotland scrambled well and won a timely turnover.

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