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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of desultory
Freddie Freeman provided the thunder in Dodger Stadium on Friday night, lining a grand slam into the right-field bullpen in the eighth inning to turn what looked like a desultory loss to the Boston Red Sox into a dramatic 4-1 victory in front of a crowd of 51,562.
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Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2024
Meanwhile, the Cougars lost their head coach, Kyle Smith, to Stanford; the Beavers are fresh off another desultory season; and both programs were battered by attrition, with their best players entering the transfer portal.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 27 June 2024
What can seem desultory to the point of randomness is actually quite purposeful.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2024
Lippmann never gave more than a desultory response.
—Annalee Newitz, Scientific American, 24 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for desultory 
Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2024
Meanwhile, the Cougars lost their head coach, Kyle Smith, to Stanford; the Beavers are fresh off another desultory season; and both programs were battered by attrition, with their best players entering the transfer portal.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 27 June 2024
What can seem desultory to the point of randomness is actually quite purposeful.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2024
Lippmann never gave more than a desultory response.
—Annalee Newitz, Scientific American, 24 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for desultory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desultory
Adjective
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So in addition to a random chance and bad infrastructure design causing this collision and human driver being at fault, in addition to all of that, the company then did not give all of the information to investigators after the crash.Michael Calore, WIRED, 19 Dec. 2024
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This key is a unique, random string of characters, like a password.Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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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.Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News, 3 Dec. 2024
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There is more than 178 feet of beach and ocean frontage, which can be accessed via a rambling wooden staircase.Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The wandering nerve was apparent to the first anatomists, notably Galen, the Greek polymath who lived until around the year 216.R Douglas Fields, WIRED, 29 Sep. 2024
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The film is narrated in the languages of the cultures the characters move through, as Burmese gives way to Thai, to Vietnamese, and beyond — a wandering, collective dream.Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Get the ring that’s perfect for the woman, not the ring whose price tag aligns with an arbitrary algorithm. 18.Alexandra Macon, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2024
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After all, so many of the norms that make disability so inconvenient—font sizes, the height at which a drawing is hung—are utterly arbitrary, and so can be reinvented.Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 17 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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However, there are some indirect consequences for DeFi users such as exposing personally identifiable information (PII) to platforms and receiving incomplete tax forms.Shehan Chandrasekera, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
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However, the extent of these benefits and the actual impact of bone broth itself is still unclear, as many of the claims are based on limited or indirect research.Sandra Rose Salathe, Flow Space, 26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In a February statement, representatives voiced concerns over Williams’ difficulty to process information, her erratic behavior and her struggles to understand financial transactions.Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024
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Daniel Penny was charged with both second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, who Penny restrained with a chokehold, later saying he felt threatened by Neely’s erratic behavior on the New York subway.Emma Tucker, CNN, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The concerto can appear undisciplined and discursive, with a running time of 70 minutes, a medley-like approach to style and a finale that brings in a male choir for a paean to nature.Joshua Barone, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
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Their discursive subjects might include an elevator speech to prep a significant other about the gaudiness of the family fortune.Melvin Backman, Quartz, 19 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near desultory
Cite this Entry
“Desultory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desultory. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
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