Antonyms for desultory


Grammar : Adj
Spell : des-uh l-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
Phonetic Transcription : ˈdɛs əlˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i


Definition of desultory

Origin :
  • 1580s, "skipping about," from Latin desultorius "hasty, casual, superficial," adjective form of desultor (n.) "a rider in the circus who jumps from one horse to another while they are in gallop," from desul-, stem of desilire "jump down," from de- "down" (see de-) + salire "to jump, leap" (see salient (adj.)). Sense of "irregular, without aim or method" is c.1740. Related: Desultorily; desultoriness.
  • adj random
Example sentences :
  • After some desultory conversation I told him who I was and how I came to be there.
  • Extract from : « Biography of a Slave » by Charles Thompson
  • The best as a novel it cannot be called, because the action is desultory in the extreme.
  • Extract from : « Sir Walter Scott » by George Saintsbury
  • They did not even answer the desultory fire directed at the loopholes.
  • Extract from : « A Set of Six » by Joseph Conrad
  • Troops may be exposed to desultory shelling during the day or night.
  • Extract from : « Gallipoli Diary, Volume 2 » by Ian Hamilton
  • The interchange of musketry, eastward there, had a desultory, waiting sound.
  • Extract from : « The Long Roll » by Mary Johnston
  • Hitherto, however, it was evident that the firing was but masked and desultory.
  • Extract from : « The Book-Hunter » by John Hill Burton
  • I mustn't have any desultory conversation, but proceed at once to business.
  • Extract from : « My New Curate » by P.A. Sheehan
  • As for my education it was limited, and I may say desultory.
  • Extract from : « The Autobiography of Methuselah » by John Kendrick Bangs
  • I found them sitting on the deck, engaged in a desultory, low-voiced conversation.
  • Extract from : « Shock Absorber » by E.G. von Wald
  • Desultory readers are seldom remarkable for the exactness of their learning.
  • Extract from : « A Study In Scarlet » by Arthur Conan Doyle

Synonyms for desultory

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019