desultory

[des-uh l-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR desultory ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.

digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.

Nearby words

Origin of desultory

1575–85; < Latin dēsultōrius pertaining to a dēsultor (a circus rider who jumps from one horse to another), equivalent to dēsul-, variant stem of dēsilīre to jump down (dē- de- + -silīre, combining form of salīre to leap) + -tōrius -tory¹

SYNONYMS FOR desultory

1. See haphazard.

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Related formsdes·ul·to·ri·ly, adverbdes·ul·to·ri·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for desultory

The Americans and their allies are carrying out a desultory air campaign in Syria that appears focused on support for the Kurds.
Time Is Running Out for Obama on Syria|Jamie Dettmer|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yammara has been sleeping in desultory fashion with a student, Aura, who then turns up pregnant and moves in with him.
Haunted by the Coca Leaf in ‘The Sound of Things Falling’|Susan Straight|July 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His closing argument was a “desultory mess,” so bad that he lost the case.
Errol Morris’s “A Wilderness of Error” Revisits Jeffrey MacDonald Case|Raymond Bonner|August 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Most of that is the desultory ticky-tacky kind that litters the right side of people's Facebook profiles.
Facebook's Dilemma: Invade Privacy or Go Bust|David Frum|May 24, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Libya sank into civil war with NATO's desultory participation taking it toward stalemate, maybe even break-up.
Middle East Revolutions Off the Rails|Christopher Dickey|April 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Just then an aide rode up, and the Colonel gave a sharp command which put an end to this desultory talk.
The Crisis, Complete|Winston Churchill
And yet he made a desultory struggle against what a secret voice was always whispering was a degradation.
The Grey Wig: Stories and Novelettes|Israel Zangwill
Thus he had found in toil the pleasure and reward athletes had in their desultory training.
The Call of the Canyon|Zane Grey
Father and son chatted in a desultory fashion across the car, and I took the opportunity of studying the old gentleman.
The Man with the Clubfoot|Valentine Williams
His attendance was desultory, and he does not appear to have completed his arts course.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various

British Dictionary definitions for desultory

desultory

adjective

passing or jumping from one thing to another, esp in a fitful way; unmethodical; disconnected

occurring in a random or incidental way; haphazarda desultory thought

Derived Formsdesultorily, adverbdesultoriness, noun

Word Origin for desultory

C16: from Latin dēsultōrius, relating to one who vaults or jumps, hence superficial, from dēsilīre to jump down, from de- + salīre to jump

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for desultory

desultory

adj.

1580s, "skipping about," from Latin desultorius "hasty, casual, superficial," adjective form of desultor (n.) "a rider in the circus who jumps from one horse to another while they are in gallop," from desul-, stem of desilire "jump down," from de- "down" (see de-) + salire "to jump, leap" (see salient (adj.)). Sense of "irregular, without aim or method" is c.1740. Related: Desultorily; desultoriness.

desultory

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of desultory

Examples from the Web for desultory

desultory

adjective

Word Origin for desultory

desultory