1
as in random
lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern
a desultory search for something of interest on TV
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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Rumors have swirled that Jaramillo was at the center of an ambush or that his murder was part of planned retribution, but Cordero-Stutz reaffirmed that his death was a random encounter that could have happened to any deputy that day.—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
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This is the random bunch of misfits Courteney will have to transform into a team competitive enough to make it to nationals, and that will surely start to form one big family along the way.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The Gerbi family also controls the trendy Paris retailer Merci, a rambling concept shop that opened in 2009 with a charitable mission.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Kiley, 40, a Republican, is in his second term representing a rambling district that stretches from the northeastern Sacramento suburbs, through Placer and nearby counties and down to Death Valley.—
David Lightman,
Sacbee.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
Landor should ahve been protected by the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, passed unanimously by Congress in 2000 to prevent state and local prisons from placing arbitrary or unnecessary restrictions on religious practices.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
10 Nov. 2025
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The notion of a non-arbitrary, standard length got a boost in the early days of physics, with the idea of a length that could be held to a standard that anyone on Earth could adhere to.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Nov. 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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Rybakina is one of the purest ballstrikers on the tour, whose all-or-nothing game can veer from erratic to unplayable in the space of a few games.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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Such a loss represents a squandered opportunity for the franchise — and yet another erratic data point in a confusing and unpredictable Panthers season.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
9 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 20 Nov. 2025.
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