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 There'd be people sitting outside smoking, having desultory conversations, playing games. — Lale Arikoglu, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Mar. 2026 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 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
  • The backgrounds are sparse and artifical, with generous bloomed lighting and mist applied to seemingly random places.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Paralympic ticket sales will begin sometime in 2027 with a random draw or lottery, similar to how Olympic sales began.
    — Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of random
Adjective
  • Even her supporters glance askance at one another during her rambling entreaties.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The chaotic hearing was marked by Castro-Arroyo rambling and frequently interrupting Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Ellen Sue Venzer as an interpreter translated the proceeding.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 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
  • They are known to ruin picnics, chase wandering children, and terrorize those who accidentally mow over a nest.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The problem isn’t the wandering trees, but the wandering narrative, which needs deeper roots.
    — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of wandering
Adjective
  • Its attempts to do so, most notably by interweaving elements of 1939’s The Wizard of Oz — including a CGI lion voiced by Colman Domingo — are heavy-handed acts of fan service that feel arbitrary.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Indeed, the representatives of that Government assert that the people of Hawaii are unfit for popular government and frankly avow that they can be best ruled by arbitrary or despotic power.
    — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of arbitrary
Adjective
  • In ordinary tax terminology, income, property, and estate taxes are often described as direct taxes, while sales, excise, and customs duties are generally characterized as indirect taxes.
    — Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Meanwhile, above-average tropical activity in the eastern Pacific increases the likelihood of indirect impacts to the southwestern United States, such as sending more rain to the region and more frequent flash flood concerns.
    — Dan Peck, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of indirect
Adjective
  • However, as global heat increases, the rain is becoming more erratic and intense, creating the conditions for deadly floods.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Those might include escalating consumption, erratic behavior, drinking alone, secretly drinking and drinking during the day.
    — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of erratic
Adjective
  • And yet this metafictional doubling—in which people appear simultaneously as themselves and with a set of fictional flourishes—has the side effect of undermining the discursive conceit of the text.
    — Maya Binyam, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
  • 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
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 22 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of desultory for Spanish Speakers

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