1
as in random
lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern
a desultory search for something of interest on TV
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2
as in rambling
passing from one topic to another
a desultory discussion about the news of the day
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of desultory
My identity, too, felt indeterminate in this desultory period between separation and divorce.
—
Terry Nguyen
july 23, Literary Hub, 23 July 2025
But the Delgados are somehow worse in their desultory family dramas, with the useless Xavier trying to prove himself to Reuben, and Isabella adopting a baby aquilops, a series of sitcom story lines dropped into the jungle.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 June 2025
The Stanley Cup-holding Florida Panthers got there with Friday night’s desultory 2-0 home loss to the Maple Leafs to put their second round series at 3-3.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 18 May 2025
The desultory attention to regional conditions compromises the book’s conclusions and recommendations.
—Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for desultory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desultory
Adjective
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Even more striking, the gas moved in a very orderly and coherent way, with far less random motion than the surrounding stars.—
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Not random or easily forgotten.—
Adjective
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Day trips to Amalfi-style Taormina are well-advised for those who have yet to gawp at its clifftop panoramas across the Mediterranean or its film star hotels, as are jaunts to the rambling flea markets and splendidly scruffy trattorias of nearby Catania.—
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The throwdown came after Trump mocked Newsom in a rambling speech at the Kennedy Center by the incumbant to Republican lawmakers.—
Adjective
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Its fractured, scattered form, grasping for structure instead of pretending to master it, is an attempt to build a future that will include both author and reader.—
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On Sunday, rain will pick up across the Midwest from Kansas and Missouri through Ohio and Pennsylvania while scattered thunderstorms are possible from Arkansas up to Ohio, with some possibly strong enough to bring gusty winds and maybe an isolated tornado.—
Adjective
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Right now, the only way to discover these wandering worlds is with the help of gravitational fields, which warp the fabric of spacetime.—
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The children were completely free and wandering, no one hitting marks, just playing and just being.—
Adjective
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The National Police has been repeatedly cited by national and international human rights organizations for excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, and the mistreatment of protesters and civilians.—
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Critics say those distinctions are arbitrary and unfair, being based on outdated assumptions and bad science.—
Adjective
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From his own zone, Zadorov made a terrific indirect pass off the end boards behind the Seattle net that Pastrnak collected deep on the right wing.—
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Aim to provide your hoya with at least six hours of indirect sunlight daily to ensure healthy growth and development.—
Adjective
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These large waves can be erratic and unpredictable.—
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The addiction eventually took its toll, and Chase became more erratic and difficult to work with.—
Adjective
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His palette is light, smudgy guitar textures and warm synths; his message, more gestural than discursive, is love and lust.—
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Set in the uneasy era between world wars, when shifts of all kinds are taking place — commercial radios sputtering to life, vaudeville theaters shutting down — Pynchon’s first novel in 12 years is a discursive comic pleasure.—
Cite this Entry
“Desultory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desultory. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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