1
as in random
lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern
a desultory search for something of interest on TV
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rambling
passing from one topic to another
a desultory discussion about the news of the day
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of desultory
The presence of Notre Dame, the presence of Hannah Hidalgo, who had torched UConn twice before and is also in the national player-of-the-year conversation, the memory of a desultory loss in South Bend a year ago were enough to stoke Strong on Monday night.
—
Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 20 Jan. 2026
Once more, police made desultory enquiries and soon lost interest, their investigative resources stretched thin by a recent string of bombings in London by Irish republican extremists.
—Literary Hub, 16 Jan. 2026
Conversation at Mels Diner is desultory and disinclined to matters so impractical, uncomfortable.
—David Searcy, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
In a somewhat desultory Virginia childhood, fishing with my father was a recurring motif.
—AFAR Media, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desultory
Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 20 Jan. 2026
Once more, police made desultory enquiries and soon lost interest, their investigative resources stretched thin by a recent string of bombings in London by Irish republican extremists.
—Literary Hub, 16 Jan. 2026
Conversation at Mels Diner is desultory and disinclined to matters so impractical, uncomfortable.
—David Searcy, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
In a somewhat desultory Virginia childhood, fishing with my father was a recurring motif.
—AFAR Media, 7 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desultory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desultory
Adjective
-
Even if the threshold for disagreement was quite low, disagreements were amplified to the point that each random interaction was increasingly likely to exceed the threshold.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
7 May 2026
-
But as some have learned the hard way, that tendency of random things to appear to form patterns means that the other peak might be just noise.—
Faye Flam,
Scientific American,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
Despite this rambling semi-introduction, Newman’s film makes quick work of all of this, recognizing that getting to the Tova-and-Cameron show (with, of course, many guest appearances by Marcellus) is the entire point of the picture.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
7 May 2026
-
Mardi is a rambling story, and reviewers were not kind.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
There are a few, scattered references to female gladiators.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Within minutes of leaving town, the pavement twists downward through tight turns and steep grades as the mountain air begins to warm, the vegetation giving way to chaparral and scattered juniper, then to the stark silhouettes of ocotillo and Mojave yucca.—
Josh Jackson,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Like Fox Lake mom Priscilla Marshall, 34, whose 11-year-old son was found wandering village streets last month, bloody and beaten, authorities said.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
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The adventurous rapper and producer take a more refined approach on a collaborative album full of wandering thoughts and odd, understated beats.—
Stephen Kearse,
Pitchfork,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The fundamental processes governing brain health — genetics, neural and synaptic plasticity, and neuroinflammation — do not respect the arbitrary boundaries drawn between neurology and psychiatry.—
Eric J. Nestler,
STAT,
28 Apr. 2026
-
White-Jacket did cause a stir with its discussion of the arbitrary and cruel use of flogging in the US Navy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Early Saturday morning, the discount airline ceased operations immediately and canceled all flights, leaving passengers stranded and most of its 17,000 direct and indirect employees without jobs.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
4 May 2026
-
Spirit said some 17,000 people, both direct and indirect airline workers, lost their jobs in the airline's collapse.—
Leslie Josephs,
CNBC,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
That is unlikely to happen, but Trump’s erratic policymaking and trade wars have given gold a different kind of currency.—
Jennifer Wilson,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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Over the past decade or so, hourly workers across an increasing number of industries have been grappling with erratic schedules that their employers put in place using technology designed to minimize labor costs and maximize productivity.—
Huo Jingnan,
NPR,
3 May 2026
Adjective
-
But by the boulder the real action was social and discursive.—
Anna Wiener,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
The temporary and discursive structure allowed global visibility without institutional permanence.—
Daniel Birnbaum,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Desultory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desultory. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
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