desultory
Americanadjective
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lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful.
desultory conversation.
-
digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random.
a desultory remark.
adjective
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passing or jumping from one thing to another, esp in a fitful way; unmethodical; disconnected
-
occurring in a random or incidental way; haphazard
a desultory thought
Other Word Forms
- desultorily adverb
- desultoriness noun
Etymology
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 -tory 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
From its desultory beginnings, Random House has grown into a behemoth, one of the industry’s Big Five.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026
Last night he did an obscure X interview show and seemed desultory and depressed.
From Salon • Sep. 4, 2024
The lobby bar at the town’s only hotel—usually so desultory on non–parents’ weekend weekends that it closed around 8—was jammed with visitors from surrounding states.
From Slate • Apr. 8, 2024
It was a suitably desultory ending for what has turned into a desultory caucus.
From New York Times • Jan. 12, 2024
Mord's strap licked out, but it was a halfhearted, desultory swing, slow and contemp-tuous.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
