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.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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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