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
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of desultory
If nothing else, that suggested negotiations were indeed ongoing – a positive sign in otherwise desultory U.S.-Russian relations.
—
Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Aug. 2024
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.
—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
See all Example Sentences for desultory 
Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Aug. 2024
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.
—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
See all Example Sentences for desultory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desultory
Adjective
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Oh, the third mode is a combination of both – sets of airbags inflate and deflate in seemingly random order – which has been perhaps my favorite setting.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
18 Jan. 2025
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Go and read random slave narratives and get their experience of the time.—
David Marchese,
New York Times,
18 Jan. 2025
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.—
Erin Moriarty,
CBS News,
20 Dec. 2024
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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
Adjective
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The open spaces all around us invite Angelenos to ditch the concrete grid for the wandering switchbacks.—
Andrew Moseman,
The Atlantic,
15 Jan. 2025
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One thing Sacco is not concerned about with Frederic is a wandering focus because of his contract situation.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
30 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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To Danes and pretty much anyone else who makes plans, signs treaties, or creates long-term strategies using rational arguments, this way of making policy feels arbitrary, pointless, even surreal.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
18 Jan. 2025
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Proposals to provide striking workers with unemployment benefits and set arbitrary regulations for warehouse workers threaten Connecticut’s economic future.—
Frank Ricci,
National Review,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The deal comes after weeks of a number of intensive rounds of indirect negotiations in the Qatari capital Doha between Israel and Hamas, mediated by facilitators from U.S., Egypt and Qatar.—
Michele Kelemen,
NPR,
15 Jan. 2025
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This occurs when a high percentage of people in a community have developed immunity, ensuring that future outbreaks affect fewer individuals and are quickly contained. Humans, of course, are not the only species that benefits from the direct and indirect protections of vaccines.—
Simon F. Haeder,
The Conversation,
14 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Biden appeared unsteady, his responses erratic, his voice a hoarse whisper.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
16 Jan. 2025
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The mountains can also make the winds more erratic because additional whirls of wind, known as wind eddies, can form as the air moves across the peaks and through the canyons.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
14 Jan. 2025
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 28 Jan. 2025.
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