desultory

[ des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee ]

/ ˈdɛs əlˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

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See 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.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM desultory

des·ul·to·ri·ly, adverbdes·ul·to·ri·ness, noun

Words nearby desultory

desuetude, desulfur, desulfurate, desulfurize, desulphurize, desultory, DET, detach, detached, detachment, detail

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use desultory in a sentence

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
A desultory conversation on politics, in which neither took the slightest interest, was a safe neutral ground.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
In the lulls, Robert and his mother exchanged bits of desultory conversation.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
The exchange, however, was still the field where a desultory fight was kept up by the shareholders.
Black Diamonds|Mr Jkai
And you will find I have a good deal of what you have, only mine in a perfectly desultory manner, as is necessary to 358 an exile.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson
Their desultory discourse was soon interrupted by their arrival at the cottage of Mr. Wharton.
The Spy|J. Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for desultory

desultory

/ (ˈdɛsəltərɪ, -trɪ) /

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 forms of desultory

desultorily, 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

desultory

Origin of desultory

OTHER WORDS FROM desultory

Words nearby desultory

Words related to desultory

How to use desultory in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for desultory

Derived forms of desultory

Word Origin for desultory