How to Use desultory in a Sentence

desultory

adjective
  • In past elections, this was a desultory phase of the campaign.
    — Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2021
  • Hers is a desultory life that probably won’t get much better.
    — Peter Plagens, WSJ, 7 Mar. 2018
  • For both Mofe and Rosa, the ambition to leave comes to seem desultory.
    — Teju Cole, The New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2021
  • Pádraic herds his handful of cattle down a track, in a desultory fashion.
    — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2022
  • The prose, much of it flat or clichéd, only underscores the desultory effect.
    — New York Times, 5 Apr. 2022
  • The new stadium, in contrast, has too often had a desultory vibe.
    — Billy Witz, New York Times, 25 May 2017
  • On the soundtrack there was some desultory chatter and the hum of fluorescent lights.
    — Emily Carter Roiphe, Longreads, 22 Feb. 2018
  • But the at-home action-movie experience is by its very nature desultory.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 24 Apr. 2020
  • The bat snapped at the handle as Devers started out of the box on a desultory journey down the line.
    — Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, 22 June 2023
  • Every conversation is downbeat and desultory; the days seem too hot, too endless to come to a point.
    — Helen Shaw, Vulture, 23 June 2022
  • Gone, too, is the massive fountain that, for much of the year, had the desultory look of an empty, slightly moldy, swimming pool.
    — Inga Saffron, Philly.com, 26 Apr. 2018
  • There are no twisted strings, no mangled head, no desultory tossing of the useless implement to the side.
    — James Hansen, The Athletic, 16 Aug. 2024
  • So King came to the camp and fell into its desultory rhythm marked by the white noise of daytime traffic below and moan of the fog horns at night.
    — Ruben Vivesstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2022
  • The Fall toured constantly through its four decades, playing sets that could be spellbinding or desultory.
    — Jon Pareles, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2018
  • Thomas played a final, desultory season with the Jets, then went home to Georgia, his life at a crossroads.
    — New York Times, 5 July 2022
  • When Freddy and his mother reentered the dining room, there was desultory applause.
    — Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 9 July 2020
  • That is not the case with the men’s basketball team, which has had a desultory season, anchored in last place in the Ivy League.
    — Billy Witz, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
  • The fourth-year player also vowed to be a better teammate, saying that learned from his desultory attitude at the start of the series.
    — Ben Steele, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2018
  • Aside form some desultory press releases, the state party hasn’t engaged and influenced the outcome of any issue.
    — Scott Gessler, The Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2017
  • The Astros had coughed up a two games to none lead in the series, losing three straight in New York in desultory fashion.
    — Ben Reiter, SI.com, 19 Oct. 2017
  • The changes made this offseason were ones the coach was going to make anyway following a desultory 8-9 campaign.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Apr. 2023
  • In a desultory performance on a humid day, the Sox were overwhelmed by righthander Joe Ryan in a 6-0 loss.
    — Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 22 June 2023
  • The things the Yankees need correcting were on full display in a desultory sweep by the Tampa Bay Rays.
    — Larry Fleisher, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2021
  • But the memory lingers of his desultory final set against Thiem in the French Open quarterfinals.
    — Christopher Clarey, New York Times, 6 July 2017
  • The symphony of noisy New York, reduced for what felt like forever to a desultory hum, seems to be rising in volume every day now.
    — Washington Post, 11 July 2021
  • Lowry, once known as a hothead and a man who seemed destined to take a desultory path through the NBA, became the team’s conscience in this series.
    — Bruce Jenkins, SFChronicle.com, 13 June 2019
  • In a somewhat desultory Virginia childhood, fishing with my father was a recurring motif.
    — AFAR Media, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Mike Zimmer often makes lists of coaches on the hot seat, and that talk picked up again after his team’s desultory loss to the Cowboys on Sunday night.
    — Childs Walker, baltimoresun.com, 5 Nov. 2021
  • The impact of that shocking final scene is sufficient to send viewers out feeling enervated after what’s been a pretty desultory final act.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 24 May 2026
  • The stadium thermometer was stuck past 100 degrees and the sky was hazy from fires to the north, all of which might have explained the desultory performance and the half-full stands.
    — David Wharton, latimes.com, 2 Sep. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'desultory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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