rambling

[ ram-bling ]

/ ˈræm blɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rambling ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

aimlessly wandering.

taking an irregular course; straggling: a rambling brook.

spread out irregularly in various directions: a rambling mansion.

straying from one subject to another; desultory: a rambling novel.

Nearby words

rambert, dame marie, rambla, ramble, ramble on, rambler, rambling, ramblingly, rambo, ramboesque, rambouillet, rambunctious

Origin of rambling

First recorded in 1615–25; ramble + -ing²

SYNONYMS FOR rambling

4 discursive.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rambling ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

ram·bling·ly, adverbram·bling·ness, nounun·ram·bling, adjective

Definition for rambling (2 of 2)

ramble

[ ram-buhl ]

/ ˈræm bəl /

verb (used without object), ram·bled, ram·bling.

to wander around in a leisurely, aimless manner: They rambled through the shops until closing time.

to take a course with many turns or windings, as a stream or path.

to grow in a random, unsystematic fashion: The vine rambled over the walls and tree trunks.

to talk or write in a discursive, aimless way (usually followed by on): The speaker rambled on with anecdote after anecdote.

verb (used with object), ram·bled, ram·bling.

to walk aimlessly or idly over or through: They spent the spring afternoon rambling woodland paths.

noun

a walk without a definite route, taken merely for pleasure.

Origin of ramble

First recorded in 1610–20; origin uncertain

SYNONYMS FOR ramble

1 stroll, saunter, amble, stray, straggle. See roam.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ramble ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rambling

In rambling posts, he called himself a loser, and wrote that he must be either bipolar or a psychopath.
School Shooters Love This Pickup Artist Website|Brandy Zadrozny|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The rocker posted a rambling video on his Facebook page claiming he's broke and penniless.
Creed Singer Scott Stapp’s Fall From Grace: From 40 Million Albums Sold to Living in a Holiday Inn|Marlow Stern|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After about one minute of rambling, a woman runs up on stage and directs someone to turn his microphone off.
White Supremacist Runs For Senate in Kentucky|Olivia Nuzzi|September 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If I could sum it up in a few choice words, I would, but instead I hem and haw, before stumbling through some rambling rejoinder.
Fear And Self-Loathing In Scandinavia: The Fiction Of Karl Ove Knausgaard|Ted Gioia|May 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Yet the show has gotten a deal of negative criticism for being inchoate, unselective, too rambling, and uneven.
A New Exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum Puts a Modern Face on Chinese Art|Melik Kaylan|January 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Again were delayed by the rambling of the horses until nearly noon, when we travelled along the road towards Fowler's Bay.
Explorations in Australia|John Forrest
The rambling thoughts in Dawson's brain slid off into oblivion.
Dave Dawson on the Russian Front|R. Sidney Bowen
Trench listened; the sound of the voice, high pitched and rambling, told him nothing.
The Four Feathers|A. E. W. Mason
Every holiday was devoted to rambling about the country near London.
More Pages from a Journal|Mark Rutherford
Lizzie laid down the powder-puff she was using and bent lower over the rambling speaker.
The Cottage of Delight|Will N. Harben

British Dictionary definitions for rambling (1 of 2)

rambling

/ (ˈræmblɪŋ) /

adjective

straggling or sprawling haphazardly; unplanneda rambling old house

(of speech or writing) lacking a coherent plan; diffuse and disconnected

(of a plant, esp a rose) profusely climbing and straggling

nomadic; wandering

British Dictionary definitions for rambling (2 of 2)

ramble

/ (ˈræmbəl) /

verb (intr)

to stroll about freely, as for relaxation, with no particular direction

(of paths, streams, etc) to follow a winding course; meander

(of plants) to grow in a random fashion

(of speech, writing, etc) to lack organization

noun

a leisurely stroll, esp in the countryside

Word Origin for ramble

C17: probably related to Middle Dutch rammelen to roam (of animals); see ram

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012