Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

desultory

/ˈdɛs.əlˌtɔɹ.i/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 2.10 in modern English

Syllables: desul-to-ry
IPA: /ˈdɛs.əlˌtɔɹ.i/

13

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order, planning, or rational connection; lacking logical sequence.

adj

Out of course; by the way; not connected with the subject.

adj

Disappointing in performance or progress.

adj

Leaping, skipping or flitting about, generally in a random or unsteady manner.

Obsolete

Example Sentences

"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."
"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."
"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."

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”).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: *sel-, dēsultōrius

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈdɛs.əlˌtɔɹ.i/
British English: /ˈdɛs.əl.t(ə).ɹi/

Usage

Obsolete

Inflected Forms

more desultory (comparative) most desultory (superlative)

Derived Forms

desultorily desultoriness

Frequently Paired Words

salient saltatory somersault oblique tangential incompetent inept ineffective

Synonyms

aimless chaotic disconnected erratic haphazard meandering quodlibetic quodlibetical random rambling scattered unmethodical

Antonyms

apropos germane relevant

Questions

How do you pronounce desultory?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈdɛs.əlˌtɔɹ.i/.
What does desultory mean?: Jumping, or passing, from one thing or subject to another, without order, planning, or rational connection; lacking logical sequence.
Where does desultory come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce desultory

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