desultory

adjective

ˈde-səl-ˌtȯr-ē How to pronounce desultory (audio)
Definition of desultorynext
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of desultory With all due respect to Swords and Holloway, Olson has taken the team on her back since Michigan’s desultory loss to Iowa last week. — Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026 Though desultory violence by remaining members of the group continued for years, the autumn of 1977 marked the climax of the violent campaigns of extremist left wing groups in the country. — Jason Burke, Time, 27 Feb. 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 See All Example Sentences for desultory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desultory
  1. random
  2. rambling
  3. scattered
  4. wandering
  5. arbitrary
  6. indirect
  7. erratic
  8. discursive
Adjective
  • Those reactions can look like freak weather, but the judgment underneath them isn’t random.
    — ESMT Berlin, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • In partnership with research firm ETC Institute, the city also mailed surveys to a random sample of at least 500 households across Elgin.
    — Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of random
Adjective
  • On the latest episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart took aim at Donald Trump‘s rambling speech during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 28 July 2026
  • People process, remember, and act on information more easily when it’s organized into three buckets instead of an unstructured, rambling, and confusing stream of ideas.
    — Carmine Gallo, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
Definition of rambling
Adjective
  • During a walk through the park, CBS News Philadelphia also found scattered screws, metal fragments and broken glass in parts of the lawn.
    — Eva Andersen, CBS News, 30 July 2026
  • The right conversation could turn scattered effort into a working plan.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 5 July 2026
Definition of scattered
Adjective
  • Conversations became muted and wandering eyes focused their attention.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The report notes the area is known by detectives to be a high crime area with multiple stray dogs and wandering drug users.
    — Rafael Escalera Montoto, Arkansas Online, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of wandering
Adjective
  • Overturning the eighty-year-old world trade system by imposing arbitrary tariffs?
    — Mark Danner, The New York Review of Books, 1 Aug. 2026
  • The new cloak is designed to accommodate arbitrary inner and outer shapes while operating omnidirectionally.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 29 July 2026
Definition of arbitrary
Adjective
  • Measures, such as the awarding of an indirect free-kick if a player deliberately heads the ball, were introduced in order to discourage children from heading.
    — Leon Imber, New York Times, 26 July 2026
  • The return is indirect and the case is harder to make, but skimping here is what causes horizon-one wins to plateau and horizon-three ambitions to collapse.
    — Farooque Munshi, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of indirect
Adjective
  • Winds of that strength start to present a greater risk of erratic wildfire behavior and spread.
    — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026
  • During the first 10 minutes of the workout, its heart rate readings seemed a bit erratic but normalized afterward.
    — Andrew Gebhart, PC Magazine, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of erratic
Adjective
  • Was the discursive thread accidental, or emblematic of the two poles the AI industry is now bifurcated between?
    — Anisha Sircar, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026
  • Like members of the Women’s Rights Convention, these outsiders often invoked the Declaration of Independence as a discursive weapon.
    — Brian DeLay, Mercury News, 4 July 2026
Definition of discursive

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desultorily
desultory
detach
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Cite this Entry

“Desultory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desultory. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of desultory for Spanish Speakers

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