desultory

adjective

ˈde-səl-ˌtȯr-ē How to pronounce desultory (audio)
Definition of desultorynext
1
as in random
lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern a desultory search for something of interest on TV

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rambling
passing from one topic to another a desultory discussion about the news of the day

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of desultory Where Bonnie and Clyde glamorizes its couple and their crimes, Loden renders Wanda passive and desultory in the lawless turn her life has taken. — Air Mail, 23 May 2026 There'd be people sitting outside smoking, having desultory conversations, playing games. — Lale Arikoglu, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Mar. 2026 With all due respect to Swords and Holloway, Olson has taken the team on her back since Michigan’s desultory loss to Iowa last week. — Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026 Though desultory violence by remaining members of the group continued for years, the autumn of 1977 marked the climax of the violent campaigns of extremist left wing groups in the country. — Jason Burke, Time, 27 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for desultory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desultory
  1. random
  2. rambling
  3. scattered
  4. wandering
  5. arbitrary
  6. indirect
  7. erratic
  8. discursive
Adjective
  • The audit, released Monday, identified a host of issues, including regulators’ failure to meet regular inspection schedules or to conduct sufficient random checks at dispensaries for contaminated products.
    — Christopher Osher, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026
  • There is nothing truly random about whether a coin comes up heads or tails.
    — Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of random
Adjective
  • Dylan Young and his Melbourne group fill their third album with winsome and warm tracks whose best moments combine rambling guitars with tales of bruising regret.
    — Linnie Greene, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026
  • After the event was disrupted by an armed intruder, the Administration and the association scheduled a July do-over, where Trump delivered a rambling speech indulging seemingly every tangent that sprang to mind, but his contempt remained apparent.
    — Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of rambling
Adjective
  • That rainfall was predicted to arrive in the form of light, scattered showers.
    — Austin Turner, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Security is thin and scattered downtown, and that morning was no different.
    — DP Opinion, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of scattered
Adjective
  • The book follows the story of Simon, the ‘wandering Jew’ down the centuries.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Despite this informal, jam-forward approach, however, Silk Fence appear to be chasing something; an understated but steady coherence gives direction to even their most wandering moments.
    — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of wandering
Adjective
  • The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found al-Faraj’s detention arbitrary, according to a report published in December 2024.
    — Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Someone set the arbitrary number at ten, and the whole point of the exercise is to whittle the list down to ten.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of arbitrary
Adjective
  • If tiny primordial black holes can split, their potential signatures might offer an indirect way to investigate the process.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026
  • In an indirect prompt injection, an attacker hides instructions in content an AI agent will come across while doing a task—a web page or a forum post, for instance—hoping to hijack the agent.
    — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of indirect
Adjective
  • Multiple companies now offer products that promise to spot the difference, with often contradictory, biased or erratic results.
    — T.M. Brown, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The 2018 tailspin had followed a massive momentum crescendo and reversal several months earlier, which gave way to an erratic tape that couldn't absorb what seemed at the time relatively unthreatening Federal Reserve tightening actions.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of erratic
Adjective
  • Stephenson’s storytelling finesse – clever reveals, discursive side quests, stealthy plot twists – shines in this robust tale of British journalist Owen and his globe-spanning search for a missing English earl in 1934.
    — Monitor reviewers, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The prolific, award-winning British author’s novels are often plotless, discursive and frustratingly obtuse.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of discursive

Browse Nearby Words

desultorily
desultory
detach
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Cite this Entry

“Desultory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desultory. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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