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
My identity, too, felt indeterminate in this desultory period between separation and divorce.
—
Terry Nguyen
july 23, Literary Hub, 23 July 2025
But the Delgados are somehow worse in their desultory family dramas, with the useless Xavier trying to prove himself to Reuben, and Isabella adopting a baby aquilops, a series of sitcom story lines dropped into the jungle.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 June 2025
The Stanley Cup-holding Florida Panthers got there with Friday night’s desultory 2-0 home loss to the Maple Leafs to put their second round series at 3-3.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 18 May 2025
The desultory attention to regional conditions compromises the book’s conclusions and recommendations.
—Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for desultory
Terry Nguyen
july 23, Literary Hub, 23 July 2025
But the Delgados are somehow worse in their desultory family dramas, with the useless Xavier trying to prove himself to Reuben, and Isabella adopting a baby aquilops, a series of sitcom story lines dropped into the jungle.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 June 2025
The Stanley Cup-holding Florida Panthers got there with Friday night’s desultory 2-0 home loss to the Maple Leafs to put their second round series at 3-3.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 18 May 2025
The desultory attention to regional conditions compromises the book’s conclusions and recommendations.
—Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for desultory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desultory
Adjective
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Legalized betting has certain security advantages in that unusual betting patterns — such as large bets being placed on a random player’s performance — can be immediately flagged.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
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Still, a player ascending from top-15 or top-10-ish status in the league to a legit MVP candidate is arguably an even more difficult, more challenging and vertiginous jump than making the leap from random scrub to solid starter.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In the past several years, Edge had filed a string of civil lawsuits with rambling, sometimes conspiratorial claims.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
28 Sep. 2025
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Kiehne was frustrated with the Joneses because the county government wouldn’t grade the dirt road up to his ranch, a rambling territory along the New Mexico border.—
Mitch Moxley,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The core loop spans 18 miles with 4,500 feet of elevation gain, winding from Colchuck Lake’s turquoise waters to the Upper Enchantment Basin’s moonscape of polished granite and scattered tarns.—
Jacqueline Kehoe,
AFAR Media,
15 Oct. 2025
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Michigan residents are in for another seasonable week, with cooler temperatures and scattered rain, according to the National Weather Service.—
Sarah Moore,
Freep.com,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Others described sightings of a woman dressed in black wandering hallways, gardens and along the seashore.—
Noreen Kompanik,
Boston Herald,
26 Oct. 2025
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And there’s even an AI Kevin O’Leary wandering cyberspace.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Yet, the severity of gendered crime during Partition wasn’t caused by an arbitrary upsurge of madness.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Oct. 2025
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Several lawsuits have already been filed challenging the fee and selection changes, with universities, labor groups, and business organizations arguing that the administration exceeded its authority and that the new rules are arbitrary.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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As a result of this framework, the company has cut direct and indirect GHG emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions) by 84 percent from its baseline from Fiscal Year 2021.—
Katherine Fung,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
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Tomatoes root best in bright, indirect light, but once their roots have sprouted, they should be moved to a location with strong, bright light and watered regularly.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Even when participants’ average blood pressure seemed healthy, those with the most erratic readings — combined with stiffer arteries — showed telltale signs of brain aging, the study found.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
3 Nov. 2025
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Think of the harms of erratic schedules akin to the way dripping water can erode stone.—
Allison Aubrey,
NPR,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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For all the revelry, there was a tough, discursive seriousness in the approach that Lang and O’Hara took to their labors in the late forties and early fifties.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
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But he’s been in the discursive arena for about a decade now.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desultory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desultory. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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