desultory

adjective

des·​ul·​to·​ry ˈde-səl-ˌtȯr-ē 

-zəl-;

di-ˈsəl-t(ə-)rē,

-ˈzəl-

1

: marked by lack of definite plan, regularity, or purpose

a dragged-out ordeal of … desultory shopping

—Herman Wouk

2

: not connected with the main subject

desultory comments

3

: disappointing in progress, performance, or quality

a desultory fifth place finish

a desultory wine

desultorily

ˌde-səl-ˈtȯr-ə-lē 

adverb

desultoriness

ˈde-səl-ˌtȯr-ē-nəs 

noun

Did you know?

The Latin adjective desultorius was used by the ancients to refer to a circus performer (called a desultor) whose trick was to leap from horse to horse without stopping. It makes sense, then, that someone or something desultory "jumps" from one thing to another. (Desultor and desultorius, by the way, come from the Latin verb salire, meaning "to leap.") A desultory conversation leaps from one topic to another and doesn't have a distinct point or direction. A desultory student skips from one subject to another without applying serious effort to any particular one. A desultory comment is a digressive one that jumps away from the topic at hand. And a desultory performance is one resulting from an implied lack of steady, focused effort.

Synonyms

• aimless
• arbitrary
• catch-as-catch-can
• erratic
• haphazard
• helter-skelter
• hit-or-miss
• random
• scattered
• slapdash
• stray

Examples of desultory in a Sentence

a desultory search for something of interest on TV

a desultory discussion about the news of the day

Recent Examples on the Web

His exhortation to designate the flatly fundamentally functional and decidedly desultory nondescript Liberty Loan Building as a National Historic Landmark is akin to memorializing a streetside waste receptacle, by mere virtue of the longevity of each. —Washington Post, 21 June 2024

The Yankees are going to be a much better team than last year’s desultory 82-80 bunch, but not nearly as good as the Orioles and Blue Jays, and their challenge will be hanging close with those two teams until Cole comes back in mid-May. —Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 6 Apr. 2024

But after the failure of a desultory effort to negotiate an agreement that would keep a modest stabilization force there beyond 2011, U.S. personnel withdrew in December of that year. —Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 28 Feb. 2023

The final hours of the conference were a desultory exchange of business cards and exhortation to keep up one’s chin. —Thomas Meaney, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin desultorius, literally, of a circus rider who leaps from horse to horse, from desilire to leap down, from de- + salire to leap — more at sally

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

desultory

adjective

des·​ul·​to·​ry ˈdes-əl-ˌtōr-ē 

-ˌtȯr-

: passing aimlessly from one thing or subject to another

desultory conversation

desultorily

ˌdes-əl-ˈtōr-ə-lē 

-ˈtȯr-

adverb

desultoriness

ˈdes-əl-ˌtōr-ē-nəs 

-ˌtȯr-

noun