Synonyms of desultory

desultory

adjective

ˈde-səl-ˌtȯr-ē 

1

as in random

lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern

a desultory search for something of interest on TV

Synonyms & Similar Words

• random
• scattered
• arbitrary
• erratic
• stray
• sporadic
• haphazard
• aimless
• accidental
• slapdash
• casual
• contingent
• lucky
• odd
• hit-or-miss
• catch-as-catch-can
• irregular
• chance
• helter-skelter
• incidental
• inadvertent
• shotgun
• fortuitous
• unplanned
• unpremeditated
• scattershot
• unsystematic
• directionless
• unintentional
• unconsidered
• purposeless
• indiscriminate
• unintended
• spot
• chancy
• flukey
• disorganized
• objectless
• fluky
• unselective
• disorderly
• undirected
• undiscriminating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• systematic
• regular
• regular
• methodical
• orderly
• continuous
• constant
• steady
• organized
• stable
• fixed
• methodic
• nonrandom
• established
• systematized
• arranged
• even
• set
• deliberate
• aware
• planned
• conscious
• purposeful
• thoughtful
• wilful
• managed
• ordered
• willful
• orchestrated

2

as in rambling

passing from one topic to another

a desultory discussion about the news of the day

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rambling
• wandering
• indirect
• excursive
• discursive
• digressive
• meandering
• maundering
• leaping
• roundabout
• circuitous
• digressionary
• digressional
• deviating
• devious

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• consistent
• logical
• coherent
• direct
• focused
• straightforward
• undeviating
• focussed

Examples of desultory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, the Cougars lost their head coach, Kyle Smith, to Stanford; the Beavers are fresh off another desultory season; and both programs were battered by attrition, with their best players entering the transfer portal. —Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 27 June 2024

What can seem desultory to the point of randomness is actually quite purposeful. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2024

Lippmann never gave more than a desultory response. —Annalee Newitz, Scientific American, 24 June 2024

His exhortation to designate the flatly fundamentally functional and decidedly desultory nondescript Liberty Loan Building as a National Historic Landmark is akin to memorializing a streetside waste receptacle, by mere virtue of the longevity of each. —Washington Post, 21 June 2024

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