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
Its most striking element is a tall glassy lobby that will provide a grand entrance from the new plaza, but the rest of the building is driven by functional massing that’s been sheathed with a desultory screen of metal and glass.
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Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2025
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
Trade between the states remains strong, yet communication between the two countries, once robust, is now mostly desultory meetings between officials and foreign ministers.
—Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2021
The Expos finished 52-110. — 1943 and 1916 Athletics, 20 in a row: Mack (not Mauch) staggered through a desultory August 1943, that included 24 losses in the last 25 games of the month.
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for desultory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desultory
Adjective
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Cooper Josephine: This started in [Montreal’s] Lafontaine Park when I was scouted by a random person with a clipboard.—
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Those who fail random tests are required to enter a ‘return to work’ program, which includes passing a drug test to have their license reinstated.—
Adjective
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In the early morning hours of Dec. 26, 1996, Patsy Ramsey called 911 to report her 6-year-old daughter JonBenét missing, and found a rambling ransom note left inside their Boulder, Colorado, home.—
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His statement came a day after the release of the Netflix series, which takes viewers back to the morning after Christmas 28 years ago, when JonBenét’s mother called 911 to report finding a rambling ransom note and her daughter missing.—
Adjective
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The album unfolds like the journal of a wandering young heart who rambles from town to town, from feeling to feeling, but without feeling connected anywhere.—
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By simply using conversational speech, a wandering internet searcher can quickly receive answers in an easy to understand format.—
Adjective
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What follows is a twisted examination of motherhood and the arbitrary expectations of adulthood.—
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This is less sound economic policymaking than the arbitrary dispersal of favors.—
Adjective
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The White House cited national security concerns for terminating workers' ability to bargain collectively, but the order applies at agencies with both direct and indirect links to national security.—
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The conditions of Conway’s bond include a ban on direct or indirect contact with witnesses, victims and co-defendants in the case.—
Adjective
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So there’s always these really erratic twists and turns.—
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Jackson is respected for his work ethic and all-round contribution but his erratic finishing is a source of deep frustration, made even more fraught by the lack of credible No 9 alternatives available to Maresca.—
Adjective
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As an impressionist, Carvey's style was more, well, impressionist — his gabbling, discursive George H.W. Bush spinning out further and further while remaining resolutely tethered to some measure of loony reality (taking a similar approach for his recent recurring stint as President Joe Biden).—
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His more discursive but no less insightful book pushes back against another feature of Obama’s view of U.S. foreign policy: the president’s deep skepticism about the ability of U.S. military force to achieve meaningful or lasting political objectives.—
Cite this Entry
“Desultory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desultory. Accessed 7 Apr. 2025.
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