desultory
adjUK /ˈdɛs.əl.t(ə).ɹi/ · US /ˈdɛs.əlˌtɔɹ.i/
Etymology 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”).
1
Jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order, planning, or rational connection; lacking logical sequence.
- 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.
4 more examples
- I teach a class of desultory minds.
- 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, →OCLC:
- The Benelux Customs Union came into effect on January 1st 1948, and there followed desultory conversations between the Benelux countries, France and Italy over projects to extend such cooperation across a larger space.2005, Tony Judt, “The Coming of the Cold War”, in Postwar: A history of Europe since 1945, London: Vintage Books, published 2010, →ISBN:
2
Out of course; by the way; not connected with the subject.
- Near-synonyms: extraneous, incidental, irrelevant, nongermane, spurious, stray, unconnected, ungermane, unrelated
- I made a desultory remark while I was talking to my friend.
1 more example
- She made a desultory attempt at conversation.
3
Disappointing in performance or progress.
- Near-synonyms: half-assed, halfhearted
- 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 19:
4
Obsolete Leaping, skipping or flitting about, generally in a random or unsteady manner.
- Derived terms
- desultorily, desultoriness
- Related terms
- salient, saltatory, somersault