Meanings
comparative more desultory · superlative most desultory
- Jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order, planning, or rational connection; lacking logical sequence.
I teach a class of desultory minds.
5 more examples
Near-synonyms: aimless, chaotic, disconnected, erratic, haphazard, meandering, quodlibetic, quodlibetical, random, rambling, scattered, unmethodical, unsystematic, wandering
He wandered round, cleaning up in a desultory way.
subject to desultory fire from the enemy
To mend the matter, Hamlet's aunt had the family failing of indulging in soliloquy, and held forth in a desultory manner, by herself, on every topic that was introduced.
1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, chapter 25, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLCIn New York I eagerly accepted the soft job fate offered me: it consisted mainly of thinking up and editing perfume ads. I welcomed its desultory character and pseudoliterary aspects, attending to it whenever I had nothing better to do.
1955 September 15, Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita, Paris: The Olympia Press […], →OCLCSynonyms: aimless, chaotic, disconnected, erratic, haphazard, meandering, quodlibetic, quodlibetical
- Out of course; by the way; not connected with the subject.
She made a desultory attempt at conversation.
2 more examples
Near-synonyms: extraneous, incidental, irrelevant, nongermane, spurious, stray, unconnected, ungermane, unrelated
I made a desultory remark while I was talking to my friend.
Synonyms: extraneous, incidental, irrelevant, nongermane, spurious, stray, unconnected, ungermane · Antonyms: apropos, germane, relevant
- Disappointing in performance or progress.
Near-synonyms: half-assed, halfhearted
1 more example
As we stood waiting for the departure time with the setting sun twinkling on the great brass dome of our 2-4-0, the sound of church bells was the only one apart from the measured tread of the guard slowly pacing towards his van, and, standing at an open window, I more than once heard the fireman's "Right away!" to his mate in acknowledgement of a desultory wave of the unfurled green flag.
1955 January, R. S. McNaught, “From the Severn to the Mersey by Great Western”, in Railway Magazine, page 19Synonyms: half-assed, halfhearted
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveJumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order, planning, or rational connection; lacking logical sequence.
adjectiveOut of course; by the way; not connected with the subject.
adjectiveDisappointing in performance or progress.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivemarked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latindēsultōrius“hasty, casual, superficial”
- Englishdesultory
From Latin dēsultōrius (“hasty, casual, superficial”), from dēsultor (“a circus rider who jumped from one galloping horse to another”), from dēsiliō (“jump down”), from dē (“down”) + saliō (“jump, leap”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian безреден, безсистемен
- безреден (bezreden)jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- безсистемен (bezsistemen)jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- плачевен (plačeven)disappointing in performance or progress
- скоклив (skokliv)leaping or skipping about
Chinese Cantonese 散漫嘅
- 散漫嘅 (saan² maan⁶ ge³)disappointing in performance or progress
Czech roztěkaný, nesouvislý
- roztěkanýjumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- nesouvislýout of course; by the way; not connected with the subject
Dutch onsamenhangend
- onsamenhangendjumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
German sprunghaft, unzusammenhängend
- sprunghaftjumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- unzusammenhängendjumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
Hungarian ötletszerű, rendszertelen
- ötletszerűjumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- rendszertelenjumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- kapkodójumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- felületesout of course; by the way; not connected with the subject
- odavetettout of course; by the way; not connected with the subject
Latvian nesakarīgs
- nesakarīgsout of course; by the way; not connected with the subject
Māori paihore
- paihorejumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
Norwegian springende, malapropos
- springendejumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- malaproposout of course; by the way; not connected with the subject
Polish nieporządny, chaotyczny
- nieporządnyjumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- chaotycznyjumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- bezładnyjumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
Portuguese desultório
- desultóriojumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
Russian беспорядочный, несвязанный
- беспорядочный (besporjadočnyj)jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- несвязанный (nesvjazannyj)jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- несвязный (nesvjaznyj)out of course; by the way; not connected with the subject
Spanish incoherente, inconexo
- incoherentejumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- inconexojumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- desganadodisappointing in performance or progress
Ukrainian безладний, хаотичний
- безладний (bezladnyj)jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- хаотичний (xaotyčnyj)jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order or rational connection
- непов'язаний (nepovʺjazanyj)out of course; by the way; not connected with the subject
- недоладний (nedoladnyj)out of course; by the way; not connected with the subject
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
desultory. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desultory
“desultory.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desultory. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “desultory,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desultory.
Source: desultory on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.