Synonyms for desultory
- adjective
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Aimless — jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order, planning, or rational connection…
aimless, erratic, rambling, unsystematic, wandering, fitful, meandering, spasmodic, purposeless, uncertain, random, incoherent, chaotic, discursive, irregular, capricious, scattered, unsettled, inconstant, loose, disconnected, roving
2. Unconnected — out of course; by the way; not connected with the subject
unconnected, stray, spurious, irrelevant, incidental, unrelated, extraneous, nongermane, ungermane
3. Cursory — disappointing in performance or progress
half-hearted, cursory, half-assed vulgar slang, half-arsed UK
Definitions
- adj. 1
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.
- adj. 2
Out of course; by the way; not connected with the subject.
She made a desultory attempt at conversation.
- adj. 3
Disappointing in performance or progress.
Near-synonyms: half-assed, halfhearted
Example sentences
- erratic We had to lessen the impact of the erratic supplies.
- rambling I heard him rambling, the words entirely disconnected.
- aimless His existence seemed to be aimless.
- spurious His books were filled with spurious arguments.
- unconnected The possibility that the two events are unconnected is not worth considering.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| desultory | steady | |
| erratic | falling | |
| rambling | rising | |
| aimless | steady | |
| unsystematic | steady | |
| spurious | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- loose1, stray1
- 6 letters
- random2, roving2, fitful2
- 7 letters
- chaotic3, erratic3, cursory3, aimless2
- 8 letters
- rambling2, spurious3
- 9 letters
- uncertain3, scattered2, wandering3, unrelated4, irregular4, unsettled3, spasmodic3, ungermane
- 10 letters
- irrelevant4, incidental4, incoherent4, meandering4, capricious3, extraneous4, discursive3, inconstant, nongermane
- 11 letters
- unconnected4, purposeless3
- 12 letters
- disconnected4, unsystematic
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (random2 = 2 syllables).